Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Knight Party Craft: Make your own shields

For our knight party, we found the perfect way to keep our guests busy while waiting for everyone to arrive.... decorate their own shields!  I cut shield shapes out of medium sized cardboard boxes and hot glued a 1" strip to the back for handles.  I just set out the markers and let them at it.


 Some of the boys were really into their art, others did something quick. However, they ALL enjoyed their shields and eagerly took them home.

 We didn't use the shields until the end of the party, so a couple of kids returned to add more decoration at different points of the party.
  
 What would I do differently next time? 1) In addition to hot glue, secure the handles with overlapping duct tape. Although most worked through the party, the handles on some of the shields detached on one end or other (some of the boys were really rough with the shields). 2) COVER the table where they will be coloring.  I can't believe all the marks that got on the table!


Tips on cutting a sword shape out of a cardboard box.... 
1) cut out a rectangle from your box,
2) measure and mark the halfway points on the narrower lengths of the rectangle
3) draw the shield shape on only one side of the rectangle at a time:   draw a concave curve from one corner to the center point to make the top, draw a convex curve from that same corner down to the other center point.
4) cut the curve shapes out
5) use the cut out pieces as a template for the other side of the shield so you get the identical shape on both sides
6) use the whole shield as a template if you have another cardboard rectangle of the same size to work with (i.e., the other side of the box)

1 comment:

  1. This is great! So many children's birthday parties seem to be based on tv shows and characters. A knight party with decorate-your-own-shield will be perfect for my grandson. Thank you.

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