8 paper crafts the whole family can try
PHOTO: Pexels
PUBLISHED ONNovember 14, 2021 7:30 AMByTerri Kue
Children's toys can get expensive, especially if you have fickle-minded kids that stop playing with their toys after a while. If you are looking for a more cost-efficient way to keep them entertained, you might want to try introducing them to paper-craft.
An activity that you can do with your little ones, paper-craft makes use of readily available paper to form both cute and functional items. Following along to a video can help your child learn to focus and take their time with their projects.
If this sounds like something you think your kid would like to try, here are some items you can make (with tutorials!) with them.
Changing star
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This Changing Star is capable of being turned inside-out over and over again to create an interesting illusion that will keep children entertained even after they’ve made it.
As shown, it works best with coloured paper for a more interesting experience.
You only require four square pieces of paper and some glue to create this. You could even make some with bigger pieces of paper to create bigger stars if your child is prone to squishing small items.
Shaker packets
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Create your own shaker toy with paper, some drawing and colouring materials, glue, and a pair of scissors.
You can customise it, whether you draw your child’s favourite cartoon character or a picture of your cat.
After, follow the tutorial for where to glue the ends together, and add anything you want inside for your child to shake. After, just seal it up and cut out some triangles, and you are all set!
Make an exploding gift box
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If your partner’s birthday is coming up, you can rope your child in to create this exploding gift box together. Get some pieces of paper, a marker to mark out where to cut, and hand-written notes to surprise your partner with.
Place a small gift or two inside, maybe even ask your child if they want to put a paper-craft item they made inside.
This project might take longer than the others to do, so save this for an afternoon when you and your child have all the time in the world.
Cartoon superhero (or Godzilla) finger pieces
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If your child loves to watch shows where the superhero transforms into cool outfits (or maybe Godzilla, we don’t judge), this is an affordable way for them to create their own so that you don’t have to buy it for them.
This project requires smaller pieces of paper than usual, which you can get here.
A paper plane
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This paper plane is not like the ones we’ve grown up with. Using two pieces of paper to create a round shape, this plane is simple to make and floats slowly to the grown.
We definitely don’t recommend throwing it down from your home to the floor, but playing with it in the playground or beach seems like a fun idea for a day out.
A wreath
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The video may say that it’s a Fall wreath, but changing the colours of the papers to green and red will make for a DIY paper Christmas wreath just in time for the festival.
For the leaves, you can cut the paper any old way you want to.
We tried creating a leaf in under 30 seconds while randomly deciding when to shift our scissors and we ended up with a decent looking leaf. The trick is the folding technique after that creates the shape of leaves.
You can spice things up with big leaves and small leaves, and let your child’s imagination run free!
Stationery holder
If your child needs a stationery holder, the good news is that they can now make it themselves and customise a new one to their favourite colours.
They can choose either a solid-coloured origami paper, or those with patterns as shown in the video to brighten things up a bit. If you find that it’s too short, you can opt for bigger origami paper to fix that issue.
A glowing ball
If your child loves anything that glows in the dark, this is a fun project to do.
You will require a bullet light bulb that you would normally find in balloons. We recommend using white paper for this project so that when you use the light bulb, the colour of the light will shine through.
Make this paper-craft at night when the sun has set, and once you have placed your lighted bulb inside, switch off all the lights for a one-of-a-kind experience. You can also create a few at a go to decorate your house with.
This article was first published in The Singapore Women's Weekly.