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How To.. make a Beautiful Kite!

May 27, 2011

So… with Weather Get Crafty “literally just around the corner” it was really time to bring you this beautiful How To Make A Kite post… it is fabulous guest post from Teri at The Journals of Giddy Giddy… and her blog makes me just that – giddy! It is BEAUTIFUL, I tell you… I could spend hours on there, absorbed in her wonderful crafts and posts. She also has her own Giddy Giddy products and designs, including the most adorable Tiger and Octopus pouchers for little girls. Please do visit Teri and be wowed and oohed and aahed… I can’t tear myself away!

How to make a kite. Beautiful Kite Craft for Summer. DIY Kites. How to make kites with tissue paper. #kites #howto #tutorials #summer #kidscrafts #kite

And how perfect is it to make your kite and then go for a good run in the park? Fresh air and fun exercise… I found Teri via the wonderful Creative Jewish Mom’s blog.ย Over to Teri and her “How to Make a Beautiful Kite” post:

We didn’t know we could do it, until we did it! ย That’s right…thisย weekend, we designed, constructed and flew our own homemade kites.

Kids most definitely need some help and some patience. But the results are spectacular and give you a perfect reason to go outside and run like the wind. What’s a better reward than this? ย This project makes it on my top 3 favorite craft DIY ideas for sure!

By the way, on a difficulty scale from 1-10 it is “officially” a 7.33. (This number is comprised of 3 votes: mine (3 difficulty level) a 7 year old (9.5 difficulty level) and a 5 1/2 year old (9.5 difficulty level).

How to make a kite. Beautiful Kite Craft for Summer. DIY Kites. How to make kites with tissue paper. #kites #howto #tutorials #summer #kidscrafts #kite

How to make a kite. Beautiful Kite Craft for Summer. DIY Kites. How to make kites with tissue paper. #kites #howto #tutorials #summer #kidscrafts #kite

How to make a kite. Beautiful Kite Craft for Summer. DIY Kites. How to make kites with tissue paper. #kites #howto #tutorials #summer #kidscrafts #kite

How to make a kite. Beautiful Kite Craft for Summer. DIY Kites. How to make kites with tissue paper. #kites #howto #tutorials #summer #kidscrafts #kite

THE DIY TUTORIAL:

1. Supplies: a spool of basketweaving reed that measure 2-3.5 millimeter in diameter, large colored wax paper and/or colored tissue paper (wax paper is best as it is more durable), quilting thread or heavy duty thread, scissors, and glue stick

(Please scroll down below for suggested supply sources. )

How to make a kite. Beautiful Kite Craft for Summer. DIY Kites. How to make kites with tissue paper. #kites #howto #tutorials #summer #kidscrafts #kite

2. Now devise your plan. Just think about the overall kite construction as a series of OVALS, CIRCLES, TEAR DROPS and HALF CIRCLES. These shapes can then be assembled and then tied together. By keeping this simple guideline in mind, we were able to create a flower, a fish/bug, and a butterfly kite.

kite design

3. Take a reed, cut it to size and securely tie ends together by looping quilting thread very tightly around and over a dozen times. Tie a good end knot that cannot easily come undone.

making a kite

This picture illustrates how a butterfly shaped kite is merely a series of 4 tear drop shapes tied together:

how to make a kite 1

Cut wax paper/tissue paper in the same shape as the frame except that it should be 1 inch bigger all around. Cut notches about 1/2 inch apart around the circumference of the wax paper shape.

diy kites

Now you can apply glue stick on the edges and then fold over so as to cover the bamboo frame.

paper kites

how to make a kite

We tied an extra reed across the entire flower shape to keep this kite frame stable and straight. This extra support might be necessary for other complex shaped kites as well.

flower kite

As far as the design, layers of shapes and colors can then be glued on the base layer. Here I debated on either a fish or a bug kite and ended up with a BUG FISH.

animal kite

This butterfly kite is the result of layers and layers of tissue paper and wax paper on top of each other.

butterfly kite

Now you can attach kite string onto the decorated face of the kite. We did this by using a sewing needle and looping it through the paper and the reed, which is underneath the paper. Placement depends on the kite design itself but rule of thumb is to find 2-3 areas to string and then those strings can then be joined together at a point about 12 inches from the kite. Think “pyramid”. Then a longer kite string can then be tied to the center point. Truly, this part requires experimentation and is based on the shape of the kite itself.

Kite flower

If you try this project, I would love to see pictures or links of your results!

How to make a kite. Beautiful Kite Craft for Summer. DIY Kites. How to make kites with tissue paper. #kites #howto #tutorials #summer #kidscrafts #kite

Have fun.

—————————————-

WHERE TO BUY:

lightweight reeds can be found atย basketweaving.com

and colored wax kite paper can be found at:ย imaginechildhood.com

This was featured on:

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Filed Under: How To's 52 Comments

Comments

  1. Lian @ Mamas Bag of Tricks says

    May 27, 2011 at 6:03 am

    Wow, totally awesome. These kids were probably the envy of the other kids in the neighborhood. Such pretty, pretty kites. I’m not all that crafty. The only time I tried to make a kite, I did this:
    http://mamasbagoftricks.blogspot.com/2008/09/simple-kite-craft.html
    And the ones I made were not made to fly. Hehehe.

    Reply
  2. Red Ted Art says

    May 27, 2011 at 6:50 am

    Yes, I know what you mean, I just can’t wait to have a go with my kids! Don’t knock simple crafts! They are fab too!

    Reply
  3. Michelle Willow says

    May 27, 2011 at 6:57 am

    WOW! I know my girl would love to have any one of those kites! Wow!

    Reply
  4. Janis from ReallyKidFriendly.com says

    May 27, 2011 at 10:05 am

    Superb! Absolutely love them, and you make it look so easy!
    I’d love to use this on my website, maybe on the run up to Father’s Day – let me know what you think!
    x

    Reply
  5. KooKooCraft says

    May 27, 2011 at 10:34 am

    I wish I had a kite like this when I was a kid ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  6. cassie says

    May 27, 2011 at 12:00 pm

    these are beautiful! certainly much better than any kite i made when i was a kid!

    Reply
  7. maryanne @ mama smiles says

    May 27, 2011 at 12:57 pm

    Those are truly beautiful kites!

    Reply
  8. Red Ted Art says

    May 27, 2011 at 1:40 pm

    I am telling you ladies.. Now I have had this guest post my children will INSIST I make one with them!! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  9. Mama Pea Pod says

    May 27, 2011 at 1:47 pm

    These are just gorgeous! How fun!

    Would love for you to come over and link this post to the Outdoor Play linky!

    Reply
  10. Red Ted Art says

    May 27, 2011 at 1:56 pm

    Janis – have emailed you – would love for Teri’s guest post to be featured ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Mama Pea Pod – Done!

    Reply
  11. @mummiafelice says

    May 27, 2011 at 4:50 pm

    Woweeeeee!!!! I love this!

    Reply
  12. Red Ted Art says

    May 27, 2011 at 4:54 pm

    I think we need a kite making workshop!!!

    Reply
  13. Maรฑana Mama says

    May 27, 2011 at 9:45 pm

    How wonderful! We’ve got plenty of wind around here lately, so perhaps I’ll get brave and try my hand at a kite this week…

    Reply
  14. Kate from An Amazing Child says

    May 28, 2011 at 12:19 pm

    Maggy, these don’t even nearly look home-made. They are amazing. Just wondering what is wax paper? What would you ordinarily use it for so I can go on the hunt for it.

    Thanks xx

    PS – thanks for sharing this with us ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  15. Red Ted Art says

    May 28, 2011 at 1:20 pm

    Hi Kate,

    This is a Guest Post from Teri.. Will forward on your question and hopefully get back to you!

    Maggy

    Reply
  16. Rachel says

    May 28, 2011 at 1:43 pm

    This is AMAZING! Thanks so much for sharing this at For the Kids Fridays at Sun Scholars! I am off to share this with my Facebook friends. Awesome!!!

    Reply
  17. jfb57 says

    May 28, 2011 at 4:20 pm

    Well, you know what I think of these!

    Reply
  18. Red Ted Art says

    May 29, 2011 at 9:18 am

    Teri sent me an answer re the Wax Paper:

    Thank you! Currently camping so short answer: wax paper is found in restaurant supply stores- but more luck with waldorf inspired supply
    store: atoygarden.com! And best thing to do is google : kite paper! I hope that helps! Thank you!!! Will check out your link when we get home Sunday!!

    Teri

    Reply
  19. JDaniel4's Mom says

    May 29, 2011 at 5:39 pm

    These really are beautiful!

    Reply
  20. Aimee says

    May 30, 2011 at 1:16 am

    My kids keep begging me to make a kite. I just might after this post ๐Ÿ˜‰ Thanks for linking up with The Sunday Showcase!

    Aimee @ http://www.classifiedmom.com

    Reply
  21. Mama Pea Pod says

    May 31, 2011 at 12:57 pm

    I know I already commented, but I just wanted to pop back to say thanks for linking it up! It’s really just lovely, and as Kate already said, they look so professional! Hope we’ll see you again at our Outdoor Play linky!

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      May 31, 2011 at 2:24 pm

      You are lovely! ๐Ÿ™‚ and yes will come again. If I donโ€™t – PROD me! I can be forgetful!!!

      xxx

      Reply
  22. Liz Burton says

    June 2, 2011 at 11:32 am

    Wow at you attempting that! The results look amazing an the pictures are stunning x

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      June 2, 2011 at 2:08 pm

      hehehe we haven’t had a go yet!! This is “just” the guest post.. but we will next summer.. when Pip Squeak and try too! xx

      Reply
  23. Jollyjilly says

    June 2, 2011 at 5:12 pm

    How beautiful I love them

    Reply
  24. Rachel says

    June 3, 2011 at 2:49 am

    SURPRISE!!!! This amazing post has been featured at this week’s For the Kids Link Party at Sun Scholars. Thanks so much for sharing, and be sure to stop by and grab an A++ button for your blog! I can’t wait to see what you have for us this week! Party is now posted… so hop on by!

    http://sunscholars.blogspot.com/2011/06/for-kids-friday-13.html

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      June 3, 2011 at 6:39 am

      Oh you are lovely! THANK YOU!

      Reply
  25. Debbie Clement says

    June 5, 2011 at 1:55 am

    Love the colors. Love the effort. Love the sharing.

    Reply
  26. Elaine says

    June 10, 2011 at 9:04 am

    Wow they are beautiful kites – I’m not quite sure that any I created would look that good!

    Reply
  27. Michelloui | The American Resident says

    June 10, 2011 at 2:00 pm

    These are beautiful! I remember making kites with my dad when I was little, I had forgotten all about that until now…

    Reply
  28. The Outlaw Mom says

    June 14, 2011 at 5:47 pm

    Oooh! Beautiful! It’s just starting to warm up and we’ll have to try this. I promised my daughter we would go kite flying and now I can really make good on that promise – thanks for sharing ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  29. Wilburn Arre says

    January 17, 2013 at 3:56 pm

    kite flying has been my hobby and past time ever since last year, it is really a great past time.,

    My very own blog
    http://www.beautyfashiondigest.com/cross-necklaces-for-women/

    Reply
  30. Becky says

    May 15, 2013 at 9:42 pm

    Love these! Share on fb and pinterest:).

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      May 16, 2013 at 8:10 am

      Fabulous thank you! Much appreciate the shares!

      Reply

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