Paper Bag Windsock Craft

The following is a guest post from Becky Whitney of Rub Some Dirt on It featuring a Paper Bag Windsock Craft perfect for the summer!




During these beautiful summer days, it’s always fun to create something with your children that you all can appreciate for days or weeks.  With this craft, creating paper bag windsocks (like a cross between a kite and a wind chime, minus the music) with crepe paper tails, you can hang it outside and enjoy it during meals on the patio.  Or hang it by a window and watch it sway in the summer breeze.  They look a lot more complicated than they actually are.  They were easy to make and easy on the eyes, turning into a lovely kid creation.
Materials:
* brown paper bag
* single hole punch
* fishing line, ribbon, yarn, thread, etc.
* crepe paper
* decorating materials
* scissors


Directions:
First, cut the bottom of your paper bag off, so that you have a big paper rectangle with two openings.

Jackson and I didn't follow this in the correct order, but next you are supposed to fold the top over and make a cuff and THEN decorate it.  But you know me.  God forbid I do a craft correctly.  So cuff it first, decorate second.  Use stickers, summer-time pictures like suns and flowers, markers, etc.  Remember that the pictures will be visible when the wind lifts the crepe paper!

So now you have a paper bag with two holes (one on each end), cuffed on one end, decorated to the max.  Now you must bust out the crepe paper.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but the next step is to cover your child's beautiful drawings with crepe paper.  Use varying lengths and colors to create the tail-of-a-kite-feeling when the wind blows through your windsock.  When your windsock is blowing in the breeze, all your kid's art with shine through the rainbow ribbons, so go crazy with the crepe paper.  The kids love it.

Next, punch two holes across from each other in the cuff of your bag.  Then loop your fishing line, yarn, ribbon, etc. through both holes so your windsock hangs straight.  Make the length as long as you want, and you have your finished windsock, ready to hang and share with the world!  Ta Da!

A great creation the kids can be proud of, with little fuss.  My mom has already called dibs on Jackson’s.  I may have to make more to meet the rising demand.  And if you like this craft, there are millions more like it at my blog, “Rub Some Dirt On It”, found at http://rubsomedirtblog.com.  Please come by and let me know if you make any windsocks of your own!

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