Unicorn Crown

Time goes by but there is one thing my little girl is still in love with… Unicorns. Yours too?

Well, this is a fun little paper craft you can make and then use for dress up. It is sure to bring a smile to your unicorn fan.

It starts with a craft that you can find in our book, Construction Paper Crafts For Kids. We take it to a magical level when we add a unicorn horn and some flowers to create a fun unicorn crown.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, we may receive an affiliate commission.

Paper Unicorn Crafts Supplies:

• Construction Paper. We used all the colors of the rainbow, but whatever your little ones like will do!
• Paper Cutter. (you could use scissors)
• White Cardstock.
• A Gold Pen.
• Scissors.
• Glue Stick.

Need supplies? Check out our shop on Amazon for all your paper crafting needs!!

How to make a paper unicorn crown

Start by cutting 1″ paper strips, using the shorter length of the construction paper. The amount of strips you need depends on the size of your child’s head.

Fold a strip in half and crease. 

Unfold and then bring each end to the middle and fold. 

Then fold at the center crease again. 

Keep doing this until you have a handful of folded strips. 

To assemble your crown, take two strips and attach them by placing the 2 folded ends through another pieces’ loops. 

Slide them in to create a 90-degree angle. Then take your next strip and slide it through the loops that went through the first. 

This will create a zig-zag. If you created an almost square you have the 3rd piece in backward. 

Continue this process until you have a unicorn crown that will fit your child’s head.

The last loop is a bit tricky and the little ones might need some help. Watch the video if you need to see it in motion.

Take the ends of the first strip and slide them out to the side. 

Then place them into the loops of the last link. 

It will take a little bit of wiggling, but once it is in place the strip will fold back at its original creases and you will have your crown. 

Now to make it a unicorn crown. On your piece of cardstock draw out some flowers and a unicorn horn.

Again, refer to the video to see how to draw the horn. OR you could use our Build A Unicorn craft as a template. 

Cut out your flowers and place them on your crown using a bit of glue.

Finish it with the horn.

Then you are done! Wear your unicorn horn and go on an adventure!

My daughter is loving this unicorn crown craft. And I’m loving that she gets to play with it once it’s created!

If you loved this unicorn craft, please pin it to your favorite Pinterest board!

The post How to make a unicorn crown with construction paper appeared first on Twitchetts.

DIY Hug Time Bracelet

Are your kiddos totally obsessed with Trolls? Ok, Maybe obsessed is a little strong… but between the songs, the movie, and the crafts we have had something Trolls in almost every day for the past 2 weeks and I don’t see any sign of that stopping. When a good friend started planning her Trolls birthday party she knew she wanted to include some Trolls dress up fun! I’m sure you have seen these awesome Troll hair headbands, but we wanted to come up with a fun hug time bracelet too!

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission.  Thank you for supporting Twitchetts!

Supplies for your DIY Hug Time Watch:

• Felt. An assortment of colors for flowers and bands. Also green for leaves.
• Buttons.
• Yarn.
• Needle.
• Velcro Stickers.
• Scissors.

Step by step Trolls bracelet costume accessory instructions

Check out these step by step instructions then watch the video at the end!  You’ll be ready to create your own hug time watches in no time!

Start by cutting out an assortment of flowers, leaves, and bands. We measured our bands to 6.5″ in length.Make sure that your bands are wide enough to place one of the velcro stickers. Cut a slit in the middle of each of your flowers and leaves.

Sew on your button using yarn.  Leave it a bit loose so that your little ones can easily attach their leaves and flowers.Next, add your velcro. Make sure to place one side on the front and one side on the back!Adding on the leaves and flowers is excellent for working on button skills!
If you are making just one for your kiddo then give them a few flower options. They will be able to make their hug bracelet, wear it awhile, and then switch it up a bit!

This would make an amazing Trolls party favor!

For a Trolls birthday party, you can place out an assortment of flowers and leaves and let the kids decide how to create their hug bracelet. 

Pin this DIY Hug Time dress up to your Favorite Pinterest Board!

The post DIY Hug Time Bracelet ~ Add a hug time watch to your Trolls dress up! appeared first on Twitchetts.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission.  Thank you for supporting Twitchetts!

Handmade Halloween Costumes

My Little Miss wants to be a princess.  Currently, she’s torn between wanting to be Ariel or Rapunzel.  Personally, I’m hoping she chooses Rapunzel because I’m in love with the dresses from LoverDoversClothing.  I can just see Little Miss running around in her bare feet while wearing this Rapunzel Dress 

And what princess’ costume would be complete without a tiara?  StarDustSpark has beautiful tiaras that really look like the real thing.  Little Miss will feel like she’s actually in Tangled with this Rapunzel tiara.

So far Little Miss hasn’t gotten into My Little Ponies, but I know a lot of her friends have.  How cute are these costumes from JulieMarieKids?  The PinkiePie costume is my favorite, but I’m sure your little one will find one she loves too.

For the superhero in your life, JulieMarieKids has a costume for them too.  Batman is my favorite. 

Mr. Monster is obsessed with Paw Patrol.  These vests from Snugglebugaboo will make any fan excited to dress up.

To complete this adorable costume, you have to add one of the amazing masks from AJoyfulBow.  

Paw Patrol is not all AJoyfulBow does.  These Pokemon Masks are perfect!

 Etsy Shop Handmade Costumes for babies and toddlers

For the youngest of trick or treaters, I found some amazing costumes that scream cuteness!

SweetSewShop can help turn your little one into an adorable Dory.If a fish is not what you envision your little one, try out one of the animals from BooBahBlue.  This Lion costume is beyond amazing.

And just because your baby is little, doesn’t mean they can’t fight crime.  At SuperKidsCapes, they have capes for even the smallest crime fighter.

Last, but far from least, are these deliciously adorable costumes from TheCostumeCafe.  Milk and Cookies anyone?

So if you’re like me for Halloween this year, and the thought of making more Handmade Halloween Costumes has you a bit anxious, check out Etsy.  You’ll be able to get an original costume without trying to find the hours during your weekends.

I’m still not sure which costume my kiddos are going to chose, but I know that these shops can sew better than I even dreamed!

The post Handmade Halloween Costumes ~ An Etsy Roundup appeared first on Twitchetts.

DIY Stick Horse

Let me start by saying that I can not sew.  So these DIY stick horses are no-sew.

One of the activities in Mr. Monster’s Justin Time Party was a horse race.  I needed to create a dozen stick horses quickly and inexpensively.

So we headed to the dollar store and grabbed one dozen oven mitts.  Then we headed to the craft store and grabbed a few other inexpensive supplies.

**Edited to add: Over 2 years later and these oven mitt stick horses have held up.  Mr. Monster “rides” his through the house at least once a day.

Don’t miss these other stick horse ideas!

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, we may receive an affiliate commission.

Yield: 1 Stick Horse

How to create a no-sew stick horse

Print

Create a simple no-sew hobby horse with this step-by-step tutorial.

Materials

• Oven Mitt
• Wooden Dowel
• Large Googly Eyes
• 2 Small Paper Cups
• Yarn
• Ribbon

Tools

• Hot Glue Gun

Instructions

1. Start by attaching an eye to each side of your oven mitt using hot glue.
2. Next, glue together the two cups at the openings.
3. Push the cups into the large section of the oven mitt. This helps your horse keep its shape.
4. For the hair, start by measuring the length of the oven mitt onto your dowel and adding a few inches.  Mark that spot with a pencil.
5. Then wrap the dowel in yarn up to your mark. Secure the yarn with a bit of hot glue.
6. Grab a piece of cardboard that is the length you want your hair to be. Then wrap your yarn around the cardboard about 50-60 times.Remove the yarn from the cardboard and place it around your dowel. Start spreading the yarn across the wrapped portion of the dowel. Try to make the top of your dowel have more hair than the rest.  Once the yarn is in position, run hot glue along the yarn and wiggle the yarn in the glue to create a good hold. Last, snip the loops so that they turn into strands.
7. To attach the head to the stick, run a bead of hot glue down one end of the dowel and push it down onto one side of the open oven mitt.  Repeat on the other side.
8. Attach a piece of ribbon around the nose of the horse.
9. Finally, attach a long piece of ribbon to either side of the head.

If you want to create this in bulk, I recommend completing each step for each of your horses before moving on to the next.

We placed all of our horses into a tall laundry basket and placed them at the start of the race.

The kids went running when they saw all the stick horses. And they were off to the races.

More ways to make a fun hobby horse toy

• Create a classic sock stick horse
• Use up an old pool noodle from last summer
• Grab a free pattern for a felt horses head
• Grab these ideas and more in our collection of stick horse DIY ideas.

This project is great for making in bulk. Especially since there is no sewing machine required. It’s a fun project that will provide hours of fun for little girls and boys.

Tips for making a hobby horse.

The basic concept of attaching a horse head to a stick is not new. Kids have been playing with these classic toys for years. Here are some tips for making this easy stick horse.

• You can try adding a styrofoam ball or soft stuffing material to the nose, instead of the cups. It may hold up better.
• Make a more glamorous hobby horse by adding a fun feather boa or choosing fun colors for the hair.
• The wooden dowels will make up the base of the horse. Choose a size that is appropriate for the amount of use. After years of play, these were the parts that broke in the end. I still have a horse’s head in my house. horse eyes
• If you don’t want to buy a wooden stick, find an old wooden broomstick instead.
• You could swap the ribbon for a thicker brown cord, for a more realistic look. Or you could use a beaded necklace for a fun twist.
• Make sure the position of the eyes matches on each side of the face.

Don’t forget to pin these stick ponies to your Crafts Pinterest board!

This site wouldn’t be here without shares from people like you, and we are so thankful that you took the time to visit Twitchetts.

Know a friend who is looking for a DIY stick horse? Please share it on Facebook or save it to your favorite board on Pinterest.

The post How to make an inexpensive DIY stick horse appeared first on Twitchetts.

cardboard dragon.

In theory, this was an amazing idea.  The kids would wear the dragons and pretend to be riding a dragon.  In execution, it was a bit more complicated than I had planned.  The activity itself was good…but having 10 kiddos all making dragons at the same time… got interesting.  I’m going to break down how we made our dragons, in true Twitchetts fashion…but I’m also going to let you know how I would do it next time…now that I’ve learned a thing or two.

What you need to make your Cardboard Dragon

• cardboard box
• paint
• box cutter with extra blades
• string/cord
• hot glue
• white cardstock
• black marker or sharpie
• Pipe cleaners
• tissue paper (optional)

How to Make a Cardboard Dragon Body

I gathered several boxes from various sources. Some from my grocery store, some from the warehouse at my 9-5, some were leftover diaper boxes.  I didn’t want to spend eternity painting boxes, so I picked up a few cans of spray paint and did the base coats that way.

After the boxes were sprayed, I started cutting off the tabs. These pieces were going to become the head, wings, and tail of our dragons.

The Wings, Tail, and Head

For the wings, I freely cut out the shape of one wing, and then used that wing as a template for its match. All the wings were slightly different so that each dragon was different.  To make the wings easily attached to the box, I scored a tab on one end of each wing. Make sure to score the opposite side of the wing on the match. (this was my first lesson learned in this process…I scored them exactly the same, so when they were attached, the dragons had one backward wing…)

For the tails, I scored the cardboard so that 4 curved lines came to a point. Then I cut the shape out of the cardboard, leaving a tab along the bottom of one side.  I cut 1-inch slits along the bottom.  This created a way to attach the tail after it was folded.

I folded the cardboard along the scored edges and used hot glue on the tab to keep it together.

To create the heads, I scored the tab so that it would fold into a box. Then I cut slits about an inch long at the bottom, along the fold lines. Again, we did this so that we could ay to attach the head to the box.

For eyes, we just cut out some circles, ovals, and whatever shape felt fun from the white cardstock. Then we drew in some dark circles with our black marker.

Now, this is where things got interesting…I hadn’t assembled the dragons at our party.  I wanted the kids to be able to pick which head, tail, wings, and eyes they wanted.  Backfire…If you’re doing this activity with a large group of kids, assemble your dragons first.  Huge time saver!!

How to assemble your cardboard dragon

Start by cutting 1 inch wide strips of cardboard from one of your remaining box tabs.  You will need 4.

Glue these to the interior corners of your box.  This will be used to attach your straps and it helps your box hold its shape.  I scored my strips, but I don’t recommend doing that.  The scored edges became weak spots on the dragon and were the only spots that really needed to be repaired.

Poke holes into the tabs of your head, wings, and tail.  Then poke holes in your boxes so that they line up with the holes you just poked in your extremities.  String pipe cleaners through each hole to attach the pieces to your box.

Finally, tie some string or cord to your corner pieces to create straps.

At the party, we gave each kiddo a big white shirt to wear as a smock. They each got to paint the pieces of their dragon…again, next time I’ll have them decorate their whole dragon.

After everyone was done painting, we went inside for cake and presents. This gave the dragons a chance to dry before playtime.  Since the kids were so young, there was a lot of excess paint on the pieces.  To speed up the drying process…some gentle wiping off the extra paint was done behind the scenes.  None of the kids noticed.

When it was time to play, the kids had a blast “riding” their dragons.

We even tucked tissue paper into the mouths to make it look like fire.

The kids got to take home their dragons as a fun party favor.

Check out the rest of our Dragons: Race to the Edge party!

The post Cardboard Dragon ~ A Fun Party Activity appeared first on Twitchetts.

Now V is constantly switching her favorite character and the quote “use your super cat speed” comes out all of the time to get her to hustle up. Somewhere I missed the sewing gene in our family. To me sewing equals time. Time isn’t something I always have loads of so I wanted to come up with something anyone could create.

What you need for your no-sew PJ Masks Costumes:

• Red Fabric. Something will a little give to it.
• Heat bonding hem tape.
• Iron.
• Ribbon.
• Blue Fabric. Again something with a little give.
• Blue Felt.
• No-sew glue
• Cardboard.
• Rubber bands.
• Pipe cleaners. (Green)
• Hot glue.
• Elastic.
• Green Felt.
• Clothes Pins
• Fiber filler.
• Scissors or Exacto knife.
• Headbands (Blue and Green)
• Clothes pins.

How to make your no-sew PJ Masks Costumes:

Gekko

Using a standard piece of green felt create a cone-like shape. Secure edges with no sew glue. Set to the side to dry. Cut a couple of slits in the top point and thread through some elastic. Once dry stuff the tail with fiber filling. Then, using green pipe cleaners bend and twist them to create a green Gekko mohawk.

Catboy

Create some simple cat ears by cutting out 2 diamonds and them folding them over a headband. Use your no-sew glue and clip with clothespins until dry. For the tail take a long piece of cardboard and form a skinny tube. Hot glue and hold with rubber bands until dry. Add in a  pipe cleaner out one end to allow you to create a bend.

Thread some elastic out the opposite end long enough to tie around a little one’s waste. Cover the whole tail in blue fabric and glue with your no-sew glue.

Owlette

These no-sew wings for Owlette were by far V’s favorite! Start by measuring the span of your little one. For our kiddos the width of the material was perfect. So I simply folded it in half and cut out a simple wing design.

Using your Exacto knife create a couple of slits about 6″ apart in the center along the top of your wings to thread your red ribbon through.

Using your heat bond hem tape, fold over the top and create a hem the whole length of the wings. The ribbon behind the neck should be inside the hem with the ends coming out through the 2 slits you cut. Secure the hem by ironing it down. Cut two small slits in the tips of the wings. Through the heat bond. Just big enough to get their little thumbs through. If you are making wings for a larger kid you can reinforce the area with more heat bond tape.

These no-sew PJ Masks costumes are fun for everyday play, for a birthday party, or even for Halloween! They played a key role in pulling off this year’s party activity! Make sure to check it out!!

The post No Sew PJ Masks Costumes appeared first on Twitchetts.

Happy Halloween!!

The post Projects of Halloween’s past appeared first on Twitchetts.

How to make a lightsaber

Summer is over and if you have a pool, go to the pool, or just happen to have a pool noodle lying around; don’t through them out! If you don’t have one, this time of year they are Cheap!!

My son is a huge Star Wars fan.  Between the movies, cartoons, legos, and action figures they are everywhere.  Well, we found a way to re-purpose these noodles into a lot of fun.  We actually made this project in May to celebrate Star Wars Day. 

J still pulls these out all the time to play!! I’ve even witnessed an epic Minecraft sword vs Lightsaber battle. And they are great party favors for a kids party!

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, we may receive an affiliate commission.

No time to make this lightsaber craft now? Pin it for later!

If you can’t make this lightsaber craft now, pin it to your kids’ crafts ideas board on Pinterest and it’ll be here for when you’re ready.

Tips for making this easy lightsaber.

• A steak knife works great for cutting the pool noodle to the size you want.
• One pool noodle can make two lightsabers.
• The cardboard strip is technically optional. But it gives the lightsaber a more realistic effect.

How to make a pool noodle lightsaber

Below is our step by step tutorial for how to make a lightsaber with a pool noodle. Feel free to print it for easy reference.

Yield: 1 lightsaber

How to make a lightsaber using a pool noodle

Print

Use a pool noodle to create an easy lightsaber.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Active Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Materials

• A pool noodle
• Duct Tape
• Electrical Tape
• Strip of cardboard

Tools

• Knife

Instructions

1. Cut the pool noodle to desired length.
2. Next wrap the duct tape around to create a handle. Add a scrap of cardboard here to give it that edge.
3. Decorate with pieces of electrical tape.

More easy crafts that you will love!

• Minecraft Sword – Crab some cardboard and bring the game to life!
• TMNT Hashi – A game that is perfect for a party!
• Cardboard Dragon – This dragon sits around your child so that they can become the dragon!

When to make pool noodle light sabers

Sometimes you see a craft and think, oh that’s cute! But then you don’t know when you will make it. Here are some ideas for this craft!

• These are a great craft to make at a Star Wars birthday party!
• Or make them all ahead and pass them out as party favors.
• Add them to a Halloween costume.
• Or use them as a Star Wars bedroom decoration.

Crafts don’t need to always have a reason. Maybe you just have a stash of pool noodles and some boys that love to craft!

If you loved this Star Wars craft, share it by pinning or sharing on Facebook.

We are thankful for every share! Each time someone shares our posts, our site grows and we are so thankful that we can continue to create unique and simple projects for kids. Know a friend who’d like to learn how to make a  lightsaber? Please share it on Facebook or save it to your favorite kid’s craft board on Pinterest.

The post How to make a lightsaber using a pool noodle appeared first on Twitchetts.