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C is for Crown 10/01/2009
 
Picture
A crown fit for a princess - or prince
A nice way to reinforce the letter C of the alphabet & encourage pretend play.

Materials Needed:
* scissors
* a few pieces of different colored paper (at least two need to 8 1/2 by 11)
* tape or glue (tape might hold up better)
* stencils (optional)
* stickers or other decorative elements (optional)
* markers or crayons (optional)

Take a piece of colored 8 1/2 by 11 paper and cut it in half. Then tape them together. Depending on the size of your child's head, you might need to trim one end before taping the other end to form the base of the crown.

Take different colors and have your child draw (or you can draw) various shapes. The crown we made was an Ariel crown and we made squiggly coral (use the link for a template if you choose coral). But you can make anything - animals, shapes or even stencils for particular designs.

Once you have them cut out, now is the time to decorate them if your child desires. You can use stickers, crayons or markers to make designs.

Then glue or tape the decorations to the base of the crown.
 
 

Ok, I can't take credit for doing this craft but I'd like to think I could pull it off as well. My mother took some cardboard boxes, including a large freezer box, and turned them into very cool castles. She put these together for our daughter's third birthday party, but this is a fun thing to do anytime.

We had just bought a freezer so a large box was easy to get but you might be able to get one from a local appliance store or freecycle. My mom cut the top of the boxes to resemble the top of a turret and used leftover contact paper to cover the outside to make them look nicer. You could also try wallpaper, construction paper or leaving it plain and just draw "bricks" or allow the kids to color it in.

The larger castle (left photo) had a door and window cut out, making it a lot more fun for pretend play. On the smaller castle (middle & right photos), she cut out the front because the box was too small for a door.

She embellished the larger castle with a beautifully stenciled sticker "Once Upon a Time There Was a Princess..." Because these castles were for a birthday party, we added another element. We had stickers and markers and let the guests decorate them.

There were a little bit of work to create but you can put together a simpler castle that would still be tons of fun and they last a long time. My daughter's birthday party as mid-May and as of mid-July they are all still actively used and holding up well (although the smaller ones are a little creased). So it's well worth the effort.

 
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