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Send your birthday guests home from the party with these eco-friendly party poppers. Have your kids help make them, fill them and pass them out to friends as they leave. You can fill them with candy, stickers or any trinket really.  And my favorite part is that you can decorate them however you want!

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Cut  3"x7" (7.6x17.8 cm)&nbsp;rectangles from construction paper (this is the size that will fit perfectly around the toilet paper roll). 

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Next cut newspaper into 8"x11" (20.3x27.9 cm) sheets. You can also use tissue paper instead of newspaper if you want brighter colors. 

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Decorate the sheets of construction paper -- my son used stamps to make a butterfly and ballon pattern (he is all about patterns at four-years old). Yet you can really do whatever for this part -- let your child get creative and see their personality come out. 

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Take the newspaper and wrap it around the paper roll.  This part is a little tricky for younger kids, so you might need to help. Twist one end to help it in place.

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Next glue the construction paper so that it creates a tub (make sure it's loose enough to slide over the toilet paper tube. )

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Slide the decorated construction roll cylinder over the newspaper-covered paper roll.

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Twist one end of the newspaper and tie it. 

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Now is the time that your child has been waiting for! Take the candy and trinkets and stuff them into the open end of the party popper. We used lollipops, tattoos and smelly pencils in our party poppers. 

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Now your kids can proudly hand out the party favors to their guests. Having my kids create these gifts themselves made them much more excited about handing them out to their friends.

toilet paper tubes (toilet paper or paper towel tubes)

newspaper

construction paper

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glue

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trinkets

oil pastels (optional)

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I love coming up with the perfect gift for everyone on my list. I put a lot of care into making sure the gifts are personal and thoughtful no matter the size. But for some reason, I have no patience for wrapping the gifts! Lucky for me, I came across a simple idea to make little gifts extra special, and best of all, I already had all the materials (and I bet you do too)! Yes - old toilet paper rolls can make for a perfect little gift. Give your wrapping paper and boxes a break, grab some recycled tubes and some ribbon and get wrapping.Looking for more ways to help your little one create handmade gifts? <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/animal-bath-bombs-project-kit/2784" target="_self">Animal Bath Bombs</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a> are the perfect way for your little crafter to dip their toes into bubbly bathtime chemistry!

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Carefully bend in the ends to create half-moon-shaped flaps.

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Open one end of the tube, slip in your gift, and fold it back up again. Decorate it with some festive ribbon or crepe paper to finish your mini gift box. It's the perfect size for small presents or stocking stuffers!

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Add some pizazz to your greeting cards with clay confetti! In just a few simple steps, you can take your cards to the next level.

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Need clay confetti? Order some from<a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/cp/supplies" target="_blank"> the KiwiCo store</a>&nbsp;today!

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Cut out an 8”x4” rectangle of card stock. Fold in half, then unfold flat.

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Draw your design on the right half of the card.

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Cut out the windows in the front of your card with a craft knife. Save any “islands,” like the middle of an O or Q.

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Cut out a transparency that is large enough to cover your window, but small enough to tape onto half of the card. Repeat so you have 2 matching transparencies.

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Tape one transparency onto the back of the front of the card.

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Put the confetti over the transparency, add a second sheet of transparency on top, and tape to seal.

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(Optional) Put a solid piece of paper on the inside of the card to hide the tape.

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I created these cute little toppers for the dessert table at my daughter’s birthday party. She asked for a bunny theme, so I created white pom-poms as miniature bunny tails! Of course, for parties that don’t involve 7-year-olds and bunnies, you can create these in any color you like. I love that these little toppers are such a quick and easy way to dress up any store-bought dessert.

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Using a small pom-pom maker, create some pom-poms. If you want to add a little extra sparkle, you can add a few strands of tinsel in with the yarn.

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Using a hot glue gun, add a small dab of glue to the end of your bamboo pick, and stick a single pom-pom to it.

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Pop them into the tops of your cupcakes, and they’re ready to serve!

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Create a traditional pinata from flour paste, newspaper and paint.

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Tear the newspaper into long strips. (Don't cut the strips with scissors, because the clean edges don't blend well when paper mache-ed.)

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Mix flour and water together until you reach your desired consistency. I made my mixture the consistency of pancake batter and it worked fine. Add more water or flour if needed.

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Dip one strip at a time into the flour and water mixtures.  Slide two fingers down the strip to rid it of excess paste.

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Lay newspaper strips on the balloon and smooth them flat. 

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Continue until the balloon is covered completely.

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Set aside to dry. I put our balloon in a pot to dry and rotated it a few times so all "sides" were able to dry.

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Paper mache all 6 toilet paper rolls, be sure to only cover one open end with the newspaper/paste. Leave the other end clear.

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When the balloon and the 6 toilet paper rolls are dry--about one day--cut the open bottom of each tube as shown in the picture.

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Use a hot glue gun to attach the tubes to the ballon or dip the end of the tube in the paste and affix it to the balloon.

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Add another layer of paper mache around the balloon and the tubes. Be sure to cover the area where the tubes meet the balloon with strips of paper mache so they stay in place.  Allow to dry (another day or so)

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Paint the sun pinata yellow, with every other ray orange. Allow to dry.

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Draw lines where you would like the opening to the pinata to be.

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Cut along the lines with a sharp knife or blade. Don't worry when you hear the balloon pop! It is normal.  When you're opening the flap, the piece may crack off. This is okay. Fill the pinata with candies and other goodies, then paper mache over the hole so it looks like the rest of the pinata. Let dry.

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To make the streamers, cut one inch wide strips from both yellow and orange tissue paper.

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Staple together 3 orange and 3 yellow strips. Cut the strips to the desired length. Use a hot glue gun to attach the strips to the ends of the toilet paper tube rays. 

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Twist a yellow and orange pipe cleaner together as shown in the picture and hot glue it to the top ray of the pinata. Allow to dry and use it for hanging the pinata.

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Now your pinata is finished and ready for your Cinco de Mayo celebration or birthday party!

12 fun birthday projects for kids

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