$2 Craft for Kids can use as Party Decorations – makes several!

My granddaughter and I used to make different crafts when she would come over to visit, but my son and his family moved across the country recently.  I am trying to come up with cute crafts that are inexpensive that I can mail to my granddaughter now.

I looked up “pipe cleaner” crafts to see what I could find that was easy enough for a 6 year old, but also cute.  I found this really adorable pipe cleaner doll craft.  It was on multiple websites, so I don’t know who originally came up with the idea.

Supplies needed: 

  • Chenille stems (fancy colored pipe cleaners) $1 or less for a small pack.  You can find these at many stores including Walmart, Dollar Tree, and Dollar General.
  • Paper napkins – you will want to get lunch napkins, not beverage napkins.  You can also find these for $1 or less at most discount and dollar stores.  I just happened to find some cute heart napkins at the Dollar Tree.  You could always  buy plain napkins and trim the bottom to make a heart shape if you want.
  • You may want thread or string to tie the waist, but you can also just use a small piece of chenille stem if you don’t have any string.

Tools needed:

Scissors

How to make these: 

  1.  fold a chenille stem in half and twist the top into an oval
  2. take a second chenille stem and wrap the center of it under the head of the first stem until you get the length of arms that you want (I wrapped the light brown one’s arms a little low)
  3. unfold napkin once
  4. cut a small “v” in the center of the napkin
  5. snip a small slit about 1/2 inch on both sides of the “v” cut
  6. push the chenille dolls arms through the slits and the head through the “v” cut
  7. gather the waist of the dress and either tie with a string or wrap a piece of chenille stem around it to cinch it in
  8. that’s it!

You can even use these to decorate a party table or hang them from string to make a banner or mobile.  They are just so adorable and you can make them in any color combinations that you want.

Happy shopping and crafting!