Yesterday was crafty craft Friday! Two projects I’ve been wanting to try: DIY dinosaur feet and a homemade tutu. Both are relatively cheap thrills and the dinosaur feet are especially super simple. I’d probably have the kids do that one more often if I had easy access to proper tissue boxes (see below).
So here we go… the imperfectionist’s crafternoon:
DIY Project #1: Homemade tutu!
Ok, so this was totally more for me than for Bebe; she never asked and I never really told her we were doing it. But she was a patient enough mannequin for a 2-year-old.
I took about a meter of tulle, elastic for the waistband, and a ribbon to jazz it up a little with a bow in the back. The ribbon was totally unnecessary and more annoying than it was worth. The waistband doesn’t necessarily look professional but this was a total ‘I’m gonna think about this till I actually just do it’ project so I wasn’t going for perfection.
Clearly a project for a mama or papa and not the 2-year-old, though older kids can totally get the job done with some supervision.
- Measured the elastic for the waist, and measured out the tulle for skirt length; basically went a little below the knee, doubled that, and added an inch more. Cut the tulle into about 3 inch strips, give or take for variety (and because, you know, imperfection).
- Sewed the elastic for the waist band.
- Extra, unnecessary step: I midway became inspired to pretty up the waistband by loosely sewing a purple ribbon so there would be a bow at the back. I’m sure there’s a better way to do this after finishing the tulle part. I’d do that next time.
- Fun fact: if you lose the ribbon method I did, it’s a no-sew affair.
- Setup: I put the waistband around one of those kiddie play strollers so I could work off it at eye level, sitting on the floor.
- Now, the knots. I folded each tulle strip in half, and the loop end went a bit above the elastic; I looped the rest through it and tightened. Then tied again with an extra knot.
It’s a bit tedious but it’s cute and Bebe had a fun time running around pretending to be a bird. Glad I could make that happen!
Here’s the original idea I used.
DIY Project #2: Dinosaur feet!
After two weeks of sick I finally acquired the essential ingredients for the dinosaur feet project: cardboard tissue boxes. It’s a rare commodity here in Israel – our tissues usually come in bags.
(See why it’s so hard to get your craft itch scratched here?)
This is super simple for the kids, and a fun (but probably short term) game when it’s done.
- Get two tissue boxes, paint color of your choice, paintbrush, surface mat.
- Have the kid paint the boxes.
- Leave out to dry.
- In the meantime, cut out the ‘toes’ or ‘claws’ depending on what your kid’s dino style is.
- When the boxes are dry, attach the claws. I ended up folding them in the back, taping each piece together where you wouldn’t see, and gluing as a unit to the boxes.
Totally effortless on my part, except for green paint bath cleanup. Koala stomped around until he discovered it’s a bit slippery which is way more fun.
Here’s the original idea I used.
Happy crafting!
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