Perfectly Marvelous Paper Hats
MATERIALS
• Paper bowls
• Paper plates (Pea had to clean caracol crumbs off Lou Lou’s plate before starting.)
• Scissors (Be sure to have an adult help you when cutting materials for your hat!)
• Watercolors or other non-toxic craft paints
• Glue
• Ribbon, at least ½ inch wide and about 24 inches long (Pea chose blue for herself and a floral pattern for Lou Lou, but you should use your favorite pattern or color!)
• Optional decorations, like feathers, sequins, glitter, buttons, dried flowers, stamps, and so on!
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Turn your paper bowl upside down. Paint the bottom of the bowl with the colors of your choice. Set the bowl aside to dry. (This will become the crown of your hat.)
2. Next, use your scissors to cut the center out of your paper plate to make a ring of the plate’s edge approximately 1½ to 2 inches wide. (This will become the brim of your hat.) Later, you will place this ring over the upside-down bowl, so be sure the hole you’ve cut out is big enough to fit over the bowl, but not so big that the bowl falls through it. And don’t forget to have an adult help you use the scissors.
3. Paint both sides of the paper plate ring with the same colors you used for your bowl—or with different colors, if you’re feeling fashionably daring! Pea loves mixing and matching. Set the ring aside to dry.
4. When both your bowl and plate ring are dry, it’s time to assemble your hat! Start by propping your bowl up, either by placing crumpled newspaper under it or by putting it atop a stack of other bowls.
5. Next, spread glue around the rim of your upside-down bowl.
6. Then lower the painted plate ring over the bowl and gently press down to help the glue seal it all the way around. You’ve just attached the brim to the crown of your hat. Enjoy a snack while it dries!
7. Finally, it’s time to decorate. First, glue your ribbon around the base of your crown to cover the seam between the crown and the brim of your hat. You can tie a bow in the back with any extra ribbon.
8. Add other design elements you might want, such as feathers (for Pea), sequins (for Ella Divine), or dried flowers (for Lou Lou). Set your perfectly marvelous hat aside one last time to dry.
Now it’s fashion-show time! Wear your hat for PSPP or on a sunny stroll in the park with friends.