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Cute & Easy Crafts for Kids

How to Make a Fidget Spinner DIY

Has the Fidget Spinner TOY CRAZE hit your house yet? Has your child lost it and are you refusing to buy another? Or maybe you have some Fidget Spinners on order…  but they are taking 3 weeks to arrive? Or maybe you simply don’t “want to give in” and “waste money” on the latest fad? Well.. my kids came to me and said (yes they did): you can make anything Mummy.. can you make us a fidget spinner toy? Shock horror on my face.. and then I started thinking about it. Actually, a basic Hand Spinner Toy shouldn’t be too difficult. And of course these Fidget Toys make a good STEAM experiment for kids.. right? I did a bit of research.. and then spent quite some time “fiddling” to see which DIY Fidget Spinner without ball bearing would be the easiest for kids to make. And then we came up with today’s solution. I hope you like them.. even more.. I hope you have a go!

You may also be interested in our selection of Paper Toys (great STEAM projects there too), as well as our Paper Pokemon Neverending Toys – which work well as Fidget Toys too! We have also brought together the “best from the web” with these DIY Fidget Spinners to check out – from cardboard Fidget Spinner DIYs like ours, to ones using ball bearings (they can be bought cheaply online and in bulk – US/ UK (aff links)).

Oh and in case you we wondering.. here a 5 Reasons Why to Keep these out of schools (unless you are using them for a Science Fair Project!)

UPDATE: We now have a set of Printable DIY Fidget Spinner Instructions – step by step photos and how to! Great for the classroom, summer camps, library schemes and other youth programs.

Fidget Spinner DIY - how to make a fidget spinners. If the Hand Spinner Fidget Toy craze has hit your home.. and you either can't or won't buy one of the kids.. or maybe your fidget spinner is stuck in the post somewhere.. why not have a go at this DIY Fidget Spinner craft. It really costs just pennies to make and is ALMOST as good as the real thing. Great Summer Craft too!

DIY Fidget Spinner  – Materials

  • cardboard (we used cereal packes, an old party hat and some pretty card)
  • a toothpick
  • 2 1 penny coins (I think you would use quarters in the US, right?)

We also used –

UPDATE: a NEW set of DIY Printable Fidget Spinner Templates here!

How to Make a Fidget Spinner DIY

—-> Template for 3 Fidget Spinner DIY Templates here <—–

As mentioned in the video. I spent some time trying to come up with the EASIEST Fidget Spinner How To. What would the children be able to manage (more or less) by themselves. We tried toothpicks, wires and paper clips. We tried layering and we tried rubber bands.. in the end we came up with this Fidget Toy DIY.

I also mention in the video, that these DIY Fidget Spinners are of course NOT as good as the shop bought ones. They have their limitations and they WILL break with use. The important thing is not to panic, or be annoyed, but to simply gather up your pieces (e.g. the toothpick may fall out) and glue it back together again. They are not perfect, but then they are EASY and they are CHEAP and they are still LOTS OF FUN. So with those caveats in mind, on to our how to make a fidget spinner video!! ENJOY!!
As always, I would love to hear about your creations, do share your photos on Instagram or Facebook. Be sure to @redtedart me and let your friends and family know where they can find the Fidget Spinner Tutorial.

You may also enjoy my friend’s AMAZING LEGO Fidget Spinner – so clever – and definitely one for LEGO Nuts! And there are lots more DIY Fidget Spinner ideas here.

Fidget Spinners make a FANTASTIC Science exploration – as outline in our Fidget Spinners for Science Fairs posts. If you love the educational elements of this fun DIY.. you may also like the following!

If SCIENCE for KIDS excite you and you are looking for MORE fabulous STEAM activities for kids.. I can highly recommend this collection of STEAM Activities for kids. Packed with FUN. Packed with COLOUR and packed with SCIENCE. You will LOVE it:

Get your copy here today – US/ UK 

(and if you are REALLY tempted, there is a fantastic SEASONAL Bundle of books to check out too! US / UK)

(aff links)

How to make a

ENJOY!!!!

Comments

    • Red Ted Art says

      I don’t have one at the moment, I need to improve the Tri Hand Spinner a little. But will get it done next week. Please do check back!!! Or sign up to our newsletter which goes out Fridays and I will make sure it is included!

      Reply

      • DENISE LEEPER says

        THESE THINGS LEAD TO BE A CHOKING MATTER TO KIDS TOO…… SO BE CAREFUL WITH THEM AND DO NOT ALLOW KIDS TO PUT THEM INTO THEIR MOUTHS AT ALL..PARTS DO COME OFF AND CAUSE SOME SERIOUS IF NOT LIFE THREATENING MEDICAL ISSUES…… JUST READ AN ARTICLE ABOUT A CHILD CHOKING ON A PART OF THIS WHICH LEAD TO HER GOING INTO SURGERY TO HAVE IT REMOVED FROM HER ESOPHAGUS… PLEASE PARENT’S WATCH YOUR CHILDREN WITH THIS TOY!!!!!!!!

        Reply

  2. Sharalyn says

    Please add a template for the fidget spinner. My son would like to try the 3 point one as well.

    Reply

    • Red Ted Art says

      I don’t at the moment, I need to improve the Tri Hand Spinner a little. But will get it done next week. Please do check back!!! Or sign up to our newsletter which goes out Fridays and I will make sure it is included!

      Reply

    • Red Ted Art says

      I don’t have one at the moment, I need to improve the Tri Hand Spinner a little. But will get it done next week. Please do check back!!! Or sign up to our newsletter which goes out Fridays and I will make sure it is included!

      Reply

  5. Alison says

    Love the idea of these as refuse to buy my kids them….do you have the templates available ? Thank you!

    Reply

    • Red Ted Art says

      I don’t at the moment, I need to improve the Tri Hand Spinner a little. But will get it done next week. Please do check back!!! Or sign up to our newsletter which goes out Fridays and I will make sure it is included!

      Reply

  6. Miriam says

    Thank you for this idea! My kids are always leaving things behind/losing them so this is great! We also have pennies in the US and that’s what we will be using. Can’t wait to try these!

    Reply

  7. Patpat says

    clever idea using recycled materials make fidget spinner .
    please upload the homemade template .
    Much thanks

    Reply

  10. Regina Hudson says

    Can’t wait to make them , I love to craft with kids , don’t have any of my own , but my friends have plenty. Lol

    Reply

  13. Vanessa says

    Please provide a template. Trying with my students to give to their mother’s for Mother’s Day. Question:can a hot glue gun be used instead?

    Reply

    • Red Ted Art says

      I have added the template (see links in materials needed) 🙂
      And personally I don’t think that a hot glue gun is strong enough, UNLESS you “smother the coin in glue”, so it is covered and held secure. I would make a prototype and test it vigorously before using hot glue with the students! Good luck.

      Reply

  14. Naomi says

    Hi there , would you kindly share with me the template for the two head spinner?
    Is it advisable to use buttons than coins?

    Reply

    • Red Ted Art says

      I have added links for the templates? Can you not see them?

      And buttons COULD work, but they are not as heavy as coins. The heavier the better!

      Reply

  16. planetgirl says

    I love this spinner idea! Thank you so much!
    May I ask WHERE did you get your fabulous “play button” ring? I want one immediately!!
    Thank you!

    Reply

  17. Kimberley Scott says

    HI what a good idea! Just a few questions…Can you cover the pennies with more cardboard or funky design? And the strongest glue I have is hot glue. Would this be okay to use? Or what about gorilla glue? Thanks 😀

    Reply

  19. AB says

    We are going to try this with hot glue. Has anyone here done that? Thanks for the creative fun spinner craft.

    Reply

  20. Lucy says

    Thanks very much for this, we had a great time making these this afternoon. I cut out two templates for each of my girls thinking that they could stick them together to make them more robust. My 7yr old suggested we stick the pennies in the middle like a sandwich. It’s only been a few hours but I think they may last a bit longer? We used hot glue. No patience for drying glue here! My daughter said it’s better than a shop bought one because she’s got the colour and design that she wants! I enjoyed making them too, I think there may be more!

    Reply

  21. Carrie Reed says

    Thank you for the info. Please send me the template for the three wing fidget. I have a youth summer camp group that I would like to have do as a project.

    Reply

  24. STEAMism.com says

    These are awesome!
    We are siblings (high school and middle school) that run a STEAM blog and have been planning a Makerspace/STEAM family night event in our rec center. This might be one of the activities we pick since we still see kids playing with theirs.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  10. […] This fidget spinner doesn’t require any skateboard bearings to make.  You use cardboard in place of the bearings and it still works really well.  The lit of supplies fort this one are all supplies you have around your house.  You can find directions here at Red Ted Art. […]

    Reply

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