Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! Celebrate With A Craft

Last March, I discovered that my mother-in-law shares a birthday with the prolific children’s book creator, Dr. Seuss. Since I am a total kid’s literature nerd, I found this coincidence pretty exciting. (Let’s be honest, it’s more fun than Edward James Olmos, who I share a birthday with!) Last year, I popped some Cat In The Hat style hats on both boys and snapped a few photos for their Nana. We often create hand print and foot print art as gifts for family, so we decided to try our hands at a Dr. Seuss themed gift for her birthday this year. (hands…get it?! HA!)


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This project makes a great homemade birthday gift for any fan of Dr. Seuss or children’s literature in general. It’s also the perfect project to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday with your children on March 2. The day has become increasingly popular over recent years, with schools and daycares holding their own special events and celebrations as well. Read on to see how we created our masterpiece- and then give it a shot yourself!

You’ll notice that I completed this project pretty much on my own without #thebigone. That’s only because he was at his dad’s- this is a project he would normally be very capable of working on with me. #thelittleone, not so much!


Ready for some Dr. Seuss Crafting?

supplies:  

  1. Canvas (or paper).
  2. Red paint.
  3. Paint brush.
  4. White paper.
  5. Beige paper.
  6. Black marker.
  7. Printed paper.
  8. Pom poms.
  9. Aqua raffia ribbon. (Yarn, fun fur, paper, etc. will also work well).
  10. Scissors.
  11. Adhesive tape runner. (Optional- glue is fine also. I just lack the patience for drying time).
  12. Craft glue.

Instructions:

I started by using the paint brush and red paint to add each boys’ hand print to the canvas. To get a shape similar to the body of the Things, I added paint to their palm and only four fingers, leaving the middle finger clean. #thebigone is cooperative and helpful with hand prints at this point, but #thelittleone is a different story. I usually have my husband help me when it’s time to tackle #thelittleone’s print. After both prints were on the canvas, I set it aside to let it dry.

Next I traced a roll of washi tape onto white paper twice, to create the Things’ bellies. (See, washi tape has countless uses, which is obviously why I love it so much!). I cut the circles out and attached them to the dry hand prints using the adhesive tape runner. Using a fine black permanent marker, I added ‘Thing 1’ and ‘Thing 2’ to each white belly.

I drew the basic shape of the Things’ faces onto my beige paper free hand. When I had a shape and size I was happy with (it took a few tries), I cut it out and traced a second one. Then I cut that face out as well. I used my phone to pull up some images of the Things. Using those images as reference, I drew their facial features on with the black marker. I also decided to outline the face shape, so that they would stand out a little better against the white canvas.

 

I cut several pieces of the aqua raffia for each Thing. Ultimately, I used around 5 pieces per Thing, and each piece was  between 1-1 1/2 inches long. I unrolled the raffia tape. Using the adhesive tape, I attached the raffia to the back of each Thing head. Next, I cut the raffia in a fringe manner, to make the hair a little more Thing-like. I used the adhesive tape to attach the heads, with hair, to the canvas. [If you’re using yarn, paper, or fur, you’ll want to adapt this step to better suit your materials].

The project was almost complete, but needed a little something extra to give it a festive birthday feel. I cut 2 small triangles out of a piece of patterned scrapbook paper, and attached one to each head with glue. Finally, I added a small pom pom to the top of each party hat with craft glue, and let the glue dry.

Having a Dr. Seuss Celebration? or is this a Gift for Someone special?

If your family completed this project simply as a fun way to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ special day, you may not want to add a special message. Because we made ours as a birthday gift for my mother-in-law, we added a hand written note to the back of the canvas. After a bit of thought and brainstorming I settled on the Dr. Seuss inspired rhyme ‘Happy Birthday To You From Thing 1 And Thing 2!’ I made sure to add the year as well, so we’ll always know how old the boys’ were when their hands were that little.


Our favorite Dr. Seuss Goodies!

Just in case you need some additional Dr. Seuss themed gift inspiration, I’m sharing some of our favorite finds! Dr. Seuss’ birthday is the perfect opportunity to add a book or two to your home library!

green eggs and ham cookbookthe butter battle book dr. seuss the great doodler

Standard Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission from purchases you make through the links in this post (at no additional cost to you), which allows me to continue providing free content on the blog.

Are your kids big fans of Dr. Seuss? Which books do they like best? How will you celebrate his birthday?

Did you know that Dr. Seuss' birthday is March 2? Check out the celebrating Thing 1 and Thing 2 craft we put together in honor of his big day!

Fun ideas for more crafts and activities inspired by children’s literature are right here!
Love those little handprints? There’s a project for every occasion!


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45 Comments

  • Meredith (@mommyinleggingz)

    OMG this is so cute!!! I absolutely love this craft idea! This would be so cute as a gift for someone who loves Dr. Seuss!!

    • Kate

      You’re absolutely right Meredith! Such a great gift idea.

    • Kate

      Thanks, mine too!

  • Leah

    This is adorable! I love Dr. Seuss too!

    • Kate

      Thanks so much Leah!

  • babiestobookworms

    These are adorable! We love doing footprint and handprint art, so I will have to remember this one!

    • Kate

      Thanks Vicki!

    • Kate

      Twins would be the perfect Thing 1 and Thing 2! Have so much fun with it Joanna!

  • theforeverteacher

    When I saw this craft…. I couldn’t stop smiling!! I LOVE it!!! Def an activity I will do with the kids!

    • Kate

      Aww, thanks! I’m glad it made you smile! Hope your little ones smile while they’re making theirs.

  • Megan @ The Many Little Joys

    Cute craft! I love Dr. Seuss and so do my kids. I just introduced them to Green Eggs and Ham a couple weeks ago (I’m not sure how I neglected that part of their literary education for almost 5 years!), and we’ve been reading it non stop. 🙂

    • Kate

      Thank you! My oldest loves Dr. Seuss too, although we don’t read his books as often as we used to.

  • Leila

    I love Dr.Seuss books and this is such great activity. Amazing!

    • Kate

      Thanks so much Leila!

  • Mamaguru

    Absolutely adorable craft! What I love about it is that it looks good, but also seems pretty easy to pull off. thanks!

    • Kate

      It’s absolutely pretty simple to pull off. Plus, Dr. Seuss’s characters were all a little crazy looking, so perfection isn’t necessary for this project!

  • All Babied Up

    What a great idea! Definitely pinning this one!

    • Kate

      Thanks so much!

  • Marquita @ LovetheLaniers

    Super cute! The kids were already thinking of making this their Halloween costume this year, I bet they’d really enjoy this craft!

    • Kate

      This would be perfect for them! Hope they have fun with it! (And what a fun idea for costumes!)

  • Stephanie Lowry

    This is how much I absolutely adore your craft idea… I screen shotted all the steps, pinned it and tweeted it! Now, that I sound like a nut, I love it! So excited to try this!

    • Kate

      You don’t sound like a nut! I’m glad you like it. I hope you guys have fun with it!

  • Julie Hoag

    This craft is SO adorable! I just love it so much! How fun! Thanks for sharing:)

    • Kate

      Thanks very much, Julie!

  • Lisa

    Seuss is my favorite and although most of my children are older, I still think we could have fun feeling like a kid again doing this together. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

    • Kate

      The great thing about Seuss is so many people love him from their childhood. It’s easy to get that nostalgic, kid-again feeling when you see his work. Thanks Lisa!

  • Danielle

    Oh my goodness, this is just too cute!!

    • Kate

      Thanks, Danielle!

  • itsahero

    This is absolutely THE COOLEST craft!! Can’t wait to try it!

    • Kate

      Thanks Rachel- hope your family has fun with it!

  • Kathy

    What an amazing and fun activity! I would never have guessed their bodies were hand prints. Too cool!

    • Kate

      Thanks so much, Kathy!

  • Divya @ Eat. Teach. Blog.

    I’m a 4th grade teacher and I think my kids think I’m Seuss-crazy! (Well, I am. But that’s only because he was such a brilliant man). I’d love to make these crafts with my students!

    • Kate

      Nothing wrong with being a little Seuss-crazy! Thanks, Divya!

  • Amanda Middleton

    Cannot wait to try this with my three! LOVE!

    • Kate

      Hope they love it, Amanda! Have fun!

  • Kate

    What a fun craft! We love Dr. Seuss in our house !

    • Kate

      We do too, Kate! Thanks!

  • Jennifer L. Corter (@jenngem)

    What an adorable craft! I love it! I might have to try it with my little guy! He LOVES Dr. Seuss!

    • Kate

      I hope he has a lot of fun with it!

  • projectlifewellness

    How cute are these!? I LOVED the idea for the hair. Adorable!!

    • Kate

      Aww, thanks!