Story time, folks.

Today, we made these paper tambourines. It was a fun craft, and the kids had a blast putting them together – we ended up making 5 of them! Owen even got into the artsy fartsy stuff, which he normally isn’t a huge fan of. When I took the kiddos outside to take some pictures, I handed over their completed tambourines for the first time, and what ensued was just pure awesomeness.

They jumped and screamed and squealed until sweat was dripping down their faces (we live in Arkansas, so that’s actually not too hard to do). I was laughing so hard as I snapped my pictures; it was just so much fun to watch! Then my blasted pregnancy hormones kicked in, and I started crying. Because that’s a perfectly normal reaction to watching your kids play. What can I say, it was just one of those perfect mommy moments, and I loved it 🙂

The tambourines are filled with small beads, dried beans, or anything that will shake around inside when you bang on it. I used some bean bag fillers I had lying around. My little monkeys went nuts over the sound, and couldn’t get enough!

To complete one tambourine, you’ll need:

– 2 Paper plates
– Stapler
– Dried beans or small beads
– Hole puncher
– Decorative materials – markers, stickers, paint, pipe cleaners, whatever you want!

Start off by decorating the bottoms of the plates, because they’ll end up on the outside. We used washi tape, markers, and stickers, but feel free to use whatever you want! Then put the plates together, bottoms facing out, and staple them together. Start off with 1 or 2 staples, just to prevent them from slipping around. Then hole punch all the way around, making sure you make it through both plates. Dump some beans into the tambourine, and finish stapling all the way around.

For some added decoration, string some yarn or pipe cleaners around the edge, weaving in and out. You could also tie some yarn or ribbon through one of the holes and have some dangly strings that hang down and shake when you bang on the tambourine.

Customize these instruments any way you want, and let your kid’s imagination run wild! But if you’re pregnant or just naturally blessed with the emotions of a crazed lunatic, be sure to grab some tissues before they start playing 🙂

You may also enjoy…

Tin Foil Boats

Window Ornament Craft

Paper Mosaics

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