When we go out to eat, one of Chuck's favorite things to get is bubble tea.
It's so cute watching him order. Too short to reach the counter, Hubby has to lift Chuck up so that he's eye level with the cashier.
Of course, it's the same lady behind the counter every week. Even though she already knows what he's going to say, she always asks Chuck what he wants. And without fail, he gives the same response: bubble tea with a blue straw. (Blue is his favorite color.)
The lady then giggles when she hears his little voice. When she's done, she hands over the drink and a couple extra straws. (He loves straws.) Typically, Chuck just blows and chews on the extras... but this time he generously gave them to me so that I could craft with them.
I saw how much he loved blowing on party blowers at another child's
birthday party. So, of course I had to try making them for him at
home.
Materials:
- Magazine paper (Cut into 5x9" rectangles)
- Bubble tea straws cut in half
- Scissors
- Tape
Directions:
1. Fold your paper in thirds lengthwise. Tape your paper where the two sides meet.
2. Fold over one end of the paper and tape that down too. (Make sure your tape all the openings closed. You want your party blower to be air tight.)
3. Starting from the sealed end, tightly wrap your magazine paper around a pen. (Do this a couple of times with the pen and then without the pen to make sure that the curl stays. I've also seen some other bloggers, like
Design Mom, wrap their rolls with rubber bands to help the curl to stay better.)
4. Now stick your straw in the open end of the paper. Fold your paper over the straw and tape it down. (Again, make sure that everything is air tight.)
And that's it! Hand your party blowers over to your kid and watch them have fun!
We just used magazine paper, so our blowers only lasted for about a couple of minutes before they stopped recoiling or ripped. But not to worry! I washed, dried, and cut up the straws to make some "beads." Chuck then enjoyed stringing them onto some pipe cleaners.
Happy crafting!
