Kids especially love the holidays – after all, school is out and there’s a steady influx of gifts and candy. Double up on the spirit of the season and get your little ones crafting their own decorations. Gradually making your own as a family builds their anticipation for the winter holidays, so skip the shops this year and try some DIY decor instead. These rustic projects are cheerful, colorful, and inexpensive, and we’re sure you’ll find making them is enjoyable for kids from 1 to 92.
Estimated time: 5 minutes per tassel (approximately
1 hour for a row of ten tassels)
Suitable for: Ages 5+
Materials
• Red crepe paper
• Green crepe paper
• Shiny gold paper
• Sturdy string (we got ours from Ikea)
• Scissors
Instructions
1. Take a piece of crepe paper and cut to about 15cm x 30cm. This will give you one rectangle. Set aside the remaining crepe paper for later use.
2. Fold rectangle in half. Starting from folded end, fold down again about 5cm. This will serve as your base.
3. From the longer end, begin folding the crepe paper, about 2.5cm wide per section. Turn the paper over and fold again the opposite way. Repeat all the way through the paper until you have a “fan.”
4. Open the “fan” and cut along the folded lines starting from the bottom (open end) of the crepe paper, creating tassels. Be careful not to cut through the base.
5. Open the crepe paper completely and lay it flat on a table or working surface.
6. Starting from either end, begin folding the tassels, one on top of the other. Try to align the corresponding tassels on each end. Smooth out the tassels as you fold. The result will be an elongated crepe paper with tassels on each end.
7. Smooth out the paper.
8. From the base (middle) of the crepe paper, begin twisting. Be careful not to twist too much; you might tear the paper.
9. Create a loop with the twisted base and double knot it with a piece of string.
10. Repeat steps 1-9 for the desired number of tassels and tie each one to an additional length of string to create a garland.
This article originally appeared on p48-49 in the December 2014 issue of beijingkids. To view it online for free, click here. To find out how you can obtain your own copy, email distribution@truerun.com.
Photos by Joey Guo
