(crafting on a dime) over the rainbow paper yo-yos

Have ya’ll met Hollie from Little Miss Marmalade yet? She just started blogging a few months ago and she’s already one of my favorites. I had the opportunity to meet Hollie (like in person) while attending SNAP blogging conference and she’s a sweetheart! When I discovered that we shared an obsession a love for Jane Austen, I knew that we were meant to be blogging buddies. She’s here today to show us how to make paper yo-yos on the cheap. Can’t wait to try this out with Logan!

As a mom in charge of a tight budget, I’m always looking for inexpensive, fun activities and crafts to do with my kids. So you can imagine how thrilled I was a few months ago when I spotted a paper yo-yo in a store. I thought, “That would be so easy to make for very little money!” The title for this craft was created by my kids since earlier this summer we read Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In the spirit of the theme, we went hunting for rainbow-colored or patterned wrapping paper. The great thing about this craft is that for less than $8, you’ll have enough supplies to make lots of paper yo-yos to use as party favors. The roll of wrapping paper I used could yield enough paper to make at least 5 paper yo-yos. And you can change the wrapping paper design to match whatever party theme you’re planning.

Step 3: Start rolling the paper strip around the dowel. Make sure it’s tight.

Step 4: Secure the rolled-up paper by wrapping a rubber band around the top. The paper yo-yo will need to “cure” in this position for at least a week so when the yo-yo is cast, it will keep a spiral shape. I tested the curing time and found the minimum time to be 7 days. And for paper yo-yos that I left for a few weeks, the springiness was even better. The most difficult part of this project was trying to explain to my kids the reason for not playing with the yo-yo for a whole week, which I’m sure seemed like an eternity to them.

Hi, crafters! My name is Hollie Keith and I’m the editor for Little Miss Marmalade, a new blog dedicated to fun and stylish crafts and creations inspired by classic lit. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, I now call Salt Lake City, Utah, home, where I enjoy hiking with my family, getting to know people in my community, and working as an editor for an awesome book publisher. I love See Vanessa Craft’s Crafting on a Dime series, so I was honored to be invited to share something.