Super Simple Dream Catcher From a Paper Plate

Third son had a terrible dream last night. It didn't help that he fell out of bed (which I hadn't heard but was described by my first son as "something crashed into the house--it made the whole house shake!" A few minutes later I heard the little guy crying and went in & located him (still on the floor). He was shaking and crying and still dreaming away. Man, that's tough!

$1 for the pony beads at the Dollar Store and $2 for feathers-
the rest of the supplies I had on hand. What a nice and easy craft!

So today, we made a super simple dream catcher to hang above his bed to catch all of his bad dreams. This is a lovely craft to do as part of a summer camp, Native American craft session or part of the library's summer reading program (our local library's theme this summer is "Dream Big!").

Well here's the super simple dream catcher and may all of your dreams be pleasant!

Paper Plate Dream Catcher

Supplies Needed:

• One paper plate
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Yarn (four 12" sections and one 48" section)
• Clear tape
• Pony beads
• Feathers (ours were about 3 1/2-4" long)
• Markers

Directions:

1. Cut a 5" (or so) circle from the center of the paper plate, leaving the outer rim of the plate intact.

2. Use the hole punch to make a series of holes every inch or so around the inner edge of the ring.

3. Use markers to decorate the ring with patterns and images as desired.

4. Weave the 48" piece of yarn through the holes in the inner edge of the ring going across the ring to create a web for the bad dreams to get caught in. This is the fun part--even young children can relax and weave this inner section. The funkier, the better! We secured the beginning and ends of our yarn to the back of the ring with clear tape.

5. Use the hole punch to create a single hole at the top of the ring to hang the dream catcher. Make a loop from one of the 12" long strands of yarn, run it through the hole and knot it to secure. If you like, you can string a couple of pony beads onto the hanging loop to add some color.

6. Use the hole punch to create three holes about an inch apart along the bottom edge of the dream catcher. Feed the remaining 12" strands of yarn through the holes and double knot to secure. Feed pony beads onto the yarn coming from each hole. Knot and then use clear tape to attach a feather to the bottom of each strand. Trim excess yarn with scissors. Repeat to make three strands of beads with feathers coming off the bottom of the dream catcher. I made the center stand slightly longer than the other two.

7. Hang above your bed to catch all of those bad dreams! Nighty-night!