Finger painted snail craft
A fun snail craft for little ones. Add some colourful patterns to the snail’s shell with finger painting
I must admit I’m not the biggest fan of real-life snails. And I feel like I may have passed on my aversion to snails to my children, who also don’t like them.
So in an effort to redeem myself, I’ve come up with this rather sweet, completely un-slimey, snail-positive craft.
This activity involves a little bit of finger-painting on the snail’s shell to add some interest, so it’s a great craft for little ones who a) love painting, and b) love to get their hands painty too.
This craft is made from a printable template, available in our Etsy store. All you have to do is paint the different parts and then glue together.
Step by step instructions, you say? I hear you! Scroll down for the complete ‘how-to’.
What you will need
This snail craft is great if you want to keep things relatively simple. It’s not going to take all day and there’s no endless list of supplies needed.
All you’ll need is:
- paint and paintbrush
- scissors
- glue stick
How to make your snail craft, step by step
Step 1
Start off by printing off your snail printable.
I always recommend printing onto thin cardstock if you can. This makes it more durable and doesn’t wrinkle so much when it’s painted.
Step 2
Time for paint.
Start by painting the snail body and the snail shell. We chose to paint the body and shell different colours, but really, anything goes!
My kids went for rainbow colours for their snails (they looked very jazzy).
Set the sheet aside to dry. (Before you add the finger paint and cut out, you want to make sure the first lot of paint is dry).
Step 3
Once you’ve added the finger painting, all the painting should be complete and all parts of the snail should be in colour, except for the eyes.
Step 4
Once the paint has dried, cut out the different parts of the snail.
Young children will likely need help with the cutting.
Step 5
And now for putting the snail together.
Put glue on the top of the snail’s body and stick on the shell.
Next, glue an eye onto the end of each thin paper strip.
Related post: Finger painted rainbow craft for preschoolers
Step 6
Glue the two eyes to the back of the snail’s head and your snail should look something like this:
And your snail is complete!
You’ve got to admit, as snails go, it’s pretty sweet.
Get your snail template:
Make your own snail craft at home or in the classroom using our printable snail template, available in our store:
Looking for more crafts with templates? What about our ever-popular paper frog craft, our summery crab, or our paper plate alien spaceship?
