Flower From Homemade Scraps

Try these one-of-a-kind kids party hat ideas for your next kids party. Create a colorful cast of characters with a few bits of paper, paint, glitter and glue.

From fancy bonnets to sombreros, wizard cone hats to princess crowns. Learn how to make them all with simple craft and homemade materials.

FANCY TISSUE PAPER BONNET

Have child sit to be "fitted" for their bonnet. To form the hat's crown, place three pieces of 25 to 30 inch wrapping paper and/or colorful tissue paper on child's head. Newspaper works fine too. Make sure the right side of the bottom paper faces down, so the underside of the hat will have color/pattern too. For a taller hat, place a rolled newspaper ball on child's head before fashioning bonnet.

Arrange the papers at different angles so the paper points are fanned out in different directions. Wrap masking tape around the child's head a couple of times at approximately ear level. Next, trim or roll the newspaper up to form the hat brim.

For a derby hat, roll to within an inch or two from the band and add a feather. To make a floppy bonnet, glue a ribbon sash over the masking tape band and add silk flowers. For a sombrero, add a fringe of paper or fabric to the edge of the brim.

Encourage children to further embellish their hats with paint, markers, ribbon, crepe paper, silk flowers, fabric, gift bows, pompoms, buttons, sequins, etc.

CONE-SHAPED WIZARD OR PRINCESS HATS

Roll a heavy weight piece of paper into a cone shape. Tape or staple to secure. Trim bottom edge if necessary to give it a nice rounded shape. Decorate the hat with paint, glitter, and other embellishments. Use gift wrap or scrapbooking papers for specific themes.

For a princess hat, run a piece of tulle through the top of the hat, or hot glue some maribou (boa) trim to the bottom. For a wizard hat, use a solid color and decorate with foil moon, star and planet shapes. Glow-in-the-dark stars would work great too.

Poke a hole in each side of the hat along the bottom edge. Run a knotted piece of ribbon or lightweight elastic through each hole to hold on child's head.

LITTLE PRINCESS HEAD WREATH

Cut a piece of cellophane wire to fit your child's head. (This type of wire has foil shapes attached to it and can be used to decorative a package instead of ribbon) Take several pieces of curling ribbon, curl on end then tie to the back of the headband. Use bright complementary colors that will look really pretty flowing down your little girl's back.

NEWSPAPER SAILOR HAT

Take one large newspaper sheet folded in half. You can also use wrapping paper for a pretty patterned hat, or plain paper to decorate on your own. A 16 x 19 piece is the right size to fit a child's head.

Lay the rectangle on the table and fold each side evenly at a 45 degree angle to meet the middle crease. This makes a pointed top. Fold the bottom edges up, each to their own side, overlapping the two triangles. Tape to hold if necessary. Open up to try on your homemade hat.

VISOR HAT

Visors are an popular type of party hat. Inexpensive foam visors with an telephone-cord type band can be purchased from craft stores. They come in many bright colors and can be decorated with glitter paints and pre-cut foam pieces such as flower and bugs.

Make your own visor by cutting out the center of a paper plate to make a band to fit on the child's head. Then cut the round plate center into a half-circle and staple it to the band. Decorate as desired.