Totally Tubular Train

Excerpted from Amanda Kingloff’s Project Kid.

Help your preschooler make this train, and then let him decorate it any way he choo-chooses.

Totally Tubular Train

What You’ll Need

1 paper towel tube
Scissors
1 small jar lid
Tacky glue
1 raisin box,with one end open
Blue, black, and silver paint
Paint brushes
Gold sequins
1 wooden spool
Hole punch (1⁄8- or 1⁄4-inch)
6 tooth picks
12 large buttons
12 beads
One 12-inch piece of yarn

Steps

1. Cut the paper towel tube into three equal pieces, then trim one piece down about 1⁄2 inch. To create the locomotive (the front, engine car), glue the short tube to the top of the jar lid, and glue the bottom of the jar lid to a wide side of the raisin box, open side down. Let the glue dry.

2. Paint all three train parts blue and let them dry. Add silver and black stripes, or whatever decoration you’d like. Glue sequins along the sides of the train. Paint the wooden spool black, let it dry, and attach it to the front of the train as its smokestack.

3. Punch two holes about 1⁄2 inch from the tube ends at the front and back of each “cargo car” tube and on the front end of the locomotive. Then punch two holes on the narrow sides of the raisin box, about 1⁄4 inch from the bottom.

4. Push a toothpick through each set of holes, slip a button on each end, then glue beads to the end of the toothpicks to keep the buttons in place. Glue the yarn along the bottoms of all the cars to connect them.

About the Book

Perfect for crafty parents who are eager to get their kids excited about DIY, ProjectKid is everything you could want in a craft book: 100(!) stylish, inventive projects; step-by-step photographs; tips for the novice crafter; easy-to-follow instructions; and a fresh, modern look. What really sets these projects apart are the unexpected, ingenious ways Kingloff uses everyday objects and materials. (Did you ever think a body-wash bottle would make a perfect rocket ship?) And these are projects for things kids want to make—and keep—from a juice-box owl to a pirate ship to a curio cabinet for displaying all of their treasures, plus games, jewelry, and more. Also included in the book are basic crafting lessons (such as pom-pom making and weaving) to help children of all ages build a DIY arsenal, a handy guide to must-have tools and materials, and a source directory.

Buy the Book
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