A Crabby Craft

Friday, Madi and I had some fun making a crabby handprint craft!  I found the inspiration on this website, and took it from there.  This was a fun project to make because I have a fondness for all things crab.  I grew up in Maryland, and summer seemed to officially kick off when you had a leisurely crab feast with family and friends on the bay or in someone's backyard.  There is nothing like a table clothed in brown paper or newspaper and covered with hot steaming crabs and shrimp, Old Bay Seasoning, vinegar, butter, and fresh corn on the cob from Maryland's Eastern Shore!  

To make our little crab, we started with an 8 x 10 canvas.  I covered Madi's hands in red paint, and she used them to form the crab's body.

I then sponged on some neutral paint to make sand.

And added some strokes of blue to make water.

The crab's cute little eyes and happy smile were added with a paint pen, and then we were done!  It dried quickly and was so cute I really wanted to keep it!

But we decided to surprise my parents with this little handmade work of summer art. They too have a fondness for all things Maryland crab -  my mom even puts out crab dishes in the summer!

They had recently treated us to two nights at the beach so we could makes some summer memories with them as a family.  It was a quick but very fun visit, and we wanted to say thank you.

So Madi and I made a little thank you note, and left our crabby craft at their house while they were out.

They loved it, of course!  A happy crab and a granddaughter's handprints are pretty hard to resist!  But I think Madi and I may have to make another one this week to keep because it was super easy and turned out so cute!

A summer memory made with my daughter that reminds me of summer memories past.

Enjoy these moments and soak up the last couple weeks of sand, sun, and freedom!

And if you are in Maryland...eat some crabs drenched in Old Bay for me!

(Summer, 2004)

Tabletop Tuesday