Hi Friends!
Today we have an airplane craft for you. We enjoyed making our first planes together and the “happy accident” that arose from improvising. We discovered we could have a spinning propeller by using different items than intended.
Even the little goof we had along the way wasn’t so bad, it provided something unexpected to look forward to. I think those are the best instances when you can make something out of nothing or make an unplanned situation functional. Right?! Regardless of all that, these came out really cute, were simple enough to make, and your littles will love to spin them. Check out all the details below.
*Click on photos for a closer look
What You'll Need
Clothespin
(2) Popsicle/Craft Sticks
Small Cardboard Piece
Craft Glue
Flat Tack (Have an adult help with this step)
Pencil
Craft Paint & Brushes
Scissors
OPTIONAL: Wax Paper, Rinsing Jar, Old Towel, Gorilla Glue
The Steps
BODY
Take your clothespin apart and set the connector aside.
Take one craft stick, cardboard piece, and pencil to trace out your 2 smaller pieces (1 propeller, 1 horizontal stabilizer: see photos)
***Happy Accident*** I was certain I had small craft sticks, but that wasn’t the case. Then I remembered we had small (unused) nail files, but those were still too long. After looking around we decided on cardboard! We could cut it down to size, it was free, lightweight, and paintable! That’s not even the best part. When I couldn’t find small wooden beads to glue onto the propeller as a finishing touch aka a spinner, we moved on to the next idea… Using a flat tack as THE spinner and as a way to attach the propeller to the plane.
THEN WE DISCOVERED WE COULD SPIN IT!!! Proud moment :)
PAINT
Paint your clothespin completely (body of plane), 2 crafts sticks (wings), and 2 short cardboard pieces (propeller & horizontal stabilizer)
Naomi chose a peach color for the body, gold for the wings, yellow for the horizontal stabilizer, and yellow, peach & silver for the propeller. I chose metallic silver for the body, black for the wings with a few stripes in gold and turquoise, and lastly gold for the 2 smaller pieces.
***ONLY paint 2 large craft sticks, we accidentally painted three.
ASSEMBLE
After each piece has dried assemble the body by adding back the connector.
Glue the wings at the front of the clothespin and the horizontal stabilizer (small piece) near the tail of the plane.
We mistakenly added a 2nd horizontal stabilizer; a 3rd craft stick. DO NOT ADD.
3. Add the propeller last or before gluing all the pieces, to the front of the plane. Push the tack through the propeller (adult assembly recommended) and almost all the way into the plane.
4. NOW SPIIIIIIIN!!!
That’s it!
optional: use Gorilla Glue, Goop, or other flexible glue, where the connector rests at the groove, to keep the plain intact through playtime. Apply as a last step so that it can dry fully, a few hours up to overnight.
Photos were taken before we realized we had added an extra stick and needed to remove, oops
Happy crafting friends!
Amanda and Naomi
To share: have an adult take a photo of your creation, click on photo submission and have them submit the photo.
