• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

ARTBAR

raising creative thinkers

  • MY BOOKS
    • Art Workshop for Children
    • Cardboard Creations
  • ART SUPPLIES
  • SHOP
    • Art Bar on Etsy
    • Art Class Poster
  • ABOUT
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

Paper Plate Party Hats

August 17, 2016 by Barbara Rucci 5 Comments

11214 shares
  • Facebook

Paper plates are cut into crowns for children to collage into party hats.

Over here, we are kind of obsessed with making party hats. It’s such a great open-ended activity that allows for artistic freedom while opening the door to imaginary play. Plus it makes them feel special.

The idea for these paper plate hats came from the whimsical and playful blog Kid Play Do. If you have five extra minutes, hop over to their blog because it will put a smile on your face! It’s one of my favorites.

Paper plates are cut into crowns for children to collage into party hats.

For art class, I set out the pre-cut party hats, some collage material and scissors so that the children could cut their own shapes (along with heart and scalloped circle paper punches which they LOVE), and some glue in a bowl with a brush. The pom-poms came out at the end for the last bit of embellishment.

Read Kid Play Do‘s blog post if you want to see how the paper plates were cut. They did it a really cute way with pinking scissors!

Paper plates are cut into crowns for children to collage into party hats.

Paper plates are cut into crowns for children to collage into party hats.

This would be such a simple and fun craft for a birthday party, too. There is a little prep work involved, but then the rest is all child-led. There is some drying time with the glue, so maybe for a party you put out glue sticks instead and maybe an adult helps with a glue gun for the pom-poms.

Happy hat making!

xo, Bar

PS: To foster creativity in your home, here are my favorite Beginner Art Supplies, and my Favorite Craft Supplies.

PSS: Follow me on Instagram to see what I’m up to at the moment, and Facebook for tons more creative and artsy ideas.

 

Filed Under: Open-ended Crafts for Kids, Birthday Parties Tagged With: collage, Kid Play Do, paper plate hats, tissue paper pom-poms

Previous Post: « Five New Picture Books to Inspire Young Artists
Next Post: The Drawing Tree »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Borei Design

    August 19, 2016 at 12:47 am

    Super creative! I love crafts that utilizes every day items for an entirely new purpose. Great job! 🙂

    Reply
    • Barbara Rucci

      August 19, 2016 at 4:17 pm

      I agree that using what you have in the house is the best kind of crafting. great idea from Kid Play Do!!

      Reply
  2. Vicki

    May 31, 2019 at 9:49 am

    These are adorable! I plan on trying it out with a group of preschoolers. Thank you!

    Reply
  3. Leslie

    January 31, 2023 at 8:29 pm

    Hey! Where did you find those flat baskets for holding materials? Beautiful!

    Reply
    • Barbara Rucci

      June 12, 2023 at 4:09 pm

      Hi Leslie, those are wicker plate chargers, I don’t know where we got them but I think maybe a thrift shop. Ikea might have them! ~ Bar

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

The Creativity Project
RESOURCE FOR TEACHERS
Join our course!
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Yes! I want to raise thoughtful and creative children. Send me more inspiration, please!

artbarblog

artbarblog

Happy birthday to my effervescent, compassionate, Happy birthday to my effervescent, compassionate, caring, full of life, funny, kind, generous, sensitive, extroverted, loving, sassy, playful, creative, smart, beautiful, philosophical, dreamy, wise, empathetic middle child, with her giant heart and lovable personality. Send her some words of wisdom, greatest advice, favorite quote, or just best wishes for this 22nd year around the sun!

I love her so 💕
Long overdue, but our last module of our 12-part c Long overdue, but our last module of our 12-part course dropped in the beginning of August and we saved the best for last! Printmaking is for sure my favorite art process, and the best part about saving it until the end is that it uses so many of the materials and elements we have covered this year in the course. Materials Matter is now closed until September but you can sign up for the waitlist in my bio link. We are relaunching it as a bundle that will include reflection questions for each module and 24 hours of PD certificates! If you sign up for the waitlist you will also get an additional discount! 

So much happening @the.creativityproject… this week we launched an inspiring new workshop series that we are super excited about. We developed it for everyone — classroom educators, art studio educators, childcare providers, pre-service educators, parents, and caregivers. The first workshop is called “Set it Out and See What Happens” and it’s FREE! Sign up at the link in my profile, or just comment below that you are interested and I’ll dm you the link. But if you are private, you will have to message me first 😉

I hope you will join @hatchartplay and me as we explore materials, environments, mindsets, and systems, all rooted in our unique approach to creative learning.💛
I’ve been scrolling back through photos to find I’ve been scrolling back through photos to find documentation of my stepmom’s cutting flower garden in Maine. Despite losing my wildflower mojo after getting poison ivy all over my body — thank you everyone your tips, I actually got rid of it after taking prednisone, only for it to come back in all new places the day after I finished treatment 🤔 — I still dream about building a structure like this in my yard for next summer. I love wildflowers, they make me happy! 

Anyway, I came across these sun print photos from the last time we were in Maine and realized I never posted all of them here. It was the first time I used the paint-on Solarfast dye so I can’t say I’m an expert, but it seems pretty forgiving.

We worked in a darker corner of the room so the fabric wouldn’t get too exposed, and then brought the arrangements outside into a very bright sun. You can put a piece of glass or plexiglass over the natural materials to get cleaner lines and prevent the materials from shifting with the wind, but I really love the different blue values that the shadows created.

I didn’t take photos of creating the final embroidery hoop piece, but it’s pretty easy and self-explanatory. I’ve been holding onto it for a while now, waiting to hang it in just the right spot. And now that I am revisiting this experience, I really want to experiment with different colors, although I love indigo blue.

This project comes from @purpletwig, her imagination and originality inspire me endlessly. Thank you @annsxb for indulging my creative exploration! 🌸
This is what procrastination looks like for me tod This is what procrastination looks like for me today. I grew some wildflowers for the first time, I don’t know why it took me this many years. I made my first bouquet last night! This morning I was wondering how many ways I can photograph these flowers that I made (basically). Different angles, different lighting. What would look bad with flowers, anything? Do flowers make everything look better? What is the opposite of flowers, smelly shoes? A toilet? The garage? I am looking for contrasts, but not too contrived. How is this art? Is this art? Will Maple sit next to them? No, she’s scared. I’m so proud of my flowers! Art makes you feel, so this is art. Should I share? Which is the best photo, which is the worst? I kind of like taking bad photos, thanks Gen Z ☺️

1. My first photo, I like this one because it’s spontaneous and my house looks clean. 
2. The bouquet in its natural environment, next to the little wildflower patch. The lighting is a little too contrasty for me. 
3. In my new bathroom, I take lots of bouquet shots in here. 
4. Contrast of wildflowers and square photos. Not my fave. 
5. Figgy being a good girl and posing next to flowers for me. 
6. Brought them to my least favorite room, my bad 80s bathroom. I like the contrasts here and the split mirror. 
7. Flowers don’t make the garage nicer. Now I’m feeling like this experiment is over. 
8. @grace.rucci took this photo last night when I made my happy bouquet 💐

Ok, back to work.
Load More Follow on Instagram

Categories

Archives

Copyright and Reposting

All content on this blog is copyright and owned by Art Bar Blog unless otherise stated. I would be flattered if you wanted to use an image from one of my posts! But please, ask me first. I would also ask that if it involves DIY instructions with a list of supplies that you don't repost any of that stuff because then nobody would have a reason to click back to my original post!

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

About Me

There are two things that I'm passionate about: Children + Art. As an art teacher, author, graphic designer, and mom to 3 creative thinkers, I get to explore my passions every day! Learn more...

I am dedicated to keeping your information safe. Please review my Privacy Policy.

Recent Posts

Harris Walz handmade prints in a stack next to a printing plate
Mushroom print on a table made with styrofoam sheets and printing ink.
Children make sculptures with wood, glue, magazines, and other collage materials and dry them on a rack.

Copyright © 2024 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework