As an ‘alternative’ to Halloween, our church puts on an evening of energetic games and crafts, with – of course – lots and lots of sweets for local kids. The past few years, the theme has been ‘Krazy Kings’ of the Bible, with an amusing panto-style play telling the story of a different king from the Bible (there are some pretty crazy escapades among them!). So of course, all the crafts are ‘king’ themed, and as ‘krazy’ as possible.
I was asked to run one of the crafts, and having done paper-bag puppet kings last year, I wanted something a little different. The classic crown crafts and decorating biscuits were already taken so I found myself at a bit of a loss. But then came the idea of making these little pom-pom kings, with their very own red carpet (ribbon) to sit on, and lovely crazy googly eyes. I think they’re adorable.
Although they look pretty fiddly and complicated (the big one pictured is only about 5cm across), glue dots and double-sided padded tape make life much easier. Glue dots are pure genius – if you haven’t discovered them yet, go and look them up!
I also used gold glitter self-adhesive foam for the crowns (which I cut into strips in advance: they just had to join them by overlapping the layers at the back and stick them on), and attached everything else with glue dots and tape. The pom-poms, hands and feet and googly eyes were all ordered fairly cheaply online.
I think I enjoyed making the ‘samples’ you see here as much as the kids enjoyed making theirs and it does tick all the boxes – it’s sparkly, colourful, tactile, and there’s plenty of room for creativity. And, of course, they’re not just for Halloween – I think they would work brilliantly as a ‘3 kings’ craft for Christmas, or any other king-themed activity you wanted.
I hope you enjoy trying these out, and experimenting with your own creative ideas to adapt them however you like.
Creative Corner 