My kids love to dance.
And we love to watch them.
They also happen to enjoy adding a little spinning, prancing and poking during their elaborate dance routines with the these colorful babies in hand:
{No, I didn’t say my children dance in the most safe and well-behaved way possible. But hey. This is real life, and if they don’t jump and spin grasping a rod with pretty ribbons attached, they’re do it with a pokey stick in the back yard…so why not live dangerously and in style?}
You’ll need:
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A dowel
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Tools: a drill {or a little pokey thing and a hammer} and a saw {if you purchase a long dowel}
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ribbons in a variety of colors and lengths
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Super glue {to secure knotted ribbon to stick}
{I would imagine you could just tie and glue the ribbon on tightly without drilling a hole, but this is a great way to incorporate team dad: I know my hubby loves breaking out his tools for his kids, and being their “project hero”}
The best part about this project…ribbon sticks are cheap, super easy to make and are endlessly customizable {think: school/sports team colors, favorite color combo, painted dowel with stickers plastered all over it…you get the idea}, and are a fun little project the whole family can play a role in creating.
Pick up a dowel from a craft store in whichever thickness you think would be best for your kiddos {ours are 3/8 inch thick}. The thicker it is, the heavier and less breakable it will be. We’re not talking broom stick size, but tooth-picks don’t work either.
We got two ribbon sticks from one long dowel {length is totally up to you, ours are 17 inches long}.
Select your ribbons while you’re at the craft store: think bright colors, fun designs, and plenty of length {the mini scrapbooking rolls won’t work}.
Drill a hole in one end of the dowel, large enough to feed your wad of ribbons through. If you don’t have a drill, bribe a neighbor with sugary treats. Or just find a sharp, pointy object and hammer the sucker through {without splitting the wood}.
Tie a knot and feed as much of remaining ribbon ends back into the hole. I singed my ribbon ends with a lighter to prevent fraying and to “meld” them together. *Do this before you use super glue {as it is flammable, and we’re not going for fire sticks here}.
Secure knot with super glue {I love using Gorilla Glue}.
Voila! You have a ribbon stick!
Now start practicing getting your shutter speed fast enough on your camera so you can actually capture your kids dancing with them {see that pink and brown blur…that’s my daughter running circles around my bewildered son}.
And once you put the kids down for a nap, feel free to break out your New Kids On The Block CD and get a little dancing in yourself. It’s fun.
I would think.
