How to Decorate Your Own Felt Tiara & Wand Kit

Allow older children to choose materials for decorating their tiaras.

With a little felt, a glue gun, some cardboard and some elastic, a felt tiara and wand kit is relatively simple to make -- but without decorations, it's also pretty boring. Whether you have a 3-year-old or a 13-year-old going as a princess for Halloween, you can let your child's creativity go wild by providing many different decorative materials for them to choose from.

Instructions

1. Create an eye-catching wand and tiara by decorating the kit with glitter, plastic jewels and shiny stickers. Older children and their parents can spread hot glue on their wands and felt tiaras, then shake glitter over them to create patterns, or simply cover the accessories in glitter. Younger children can use glitter glue to make their own shiny patterns and designs on their tiaras and wands. Even toddlers can decorate their own accessories by sticking shiny stickers and plastic jewels to their tiaras and wants.

2. Design themed tiaras and wands. Ask children to decide what kind of princesses they want to be -- for example, a fairy princess, a flower princess or a mermaid princess -- then help them decorate their wands and tiaras to reflect that theme. For example, you might use feathers for winged fairy princesses, or paper or plastic flowers for flower princesses. You can even have children look at pictures of different types of princesses in picture books or online to try to come up with a unique idea. Children may have some silly ideas -- one might ask to be the princess of your town or a Christmas fairy, for example -- but allow them to pursue their ideas, and decorate their wand and tiara kits accordingly. This not only allows children to be creative, but it helps them think critically as they decide what types of decorations are appropriate for their themes.

3. Design famous princess replica tiaras and wands. Have your child watch her favorite princess or fairy movie or read her favorite princess or fairy book, and brainstorm with her to come up with similar decorations for her own tiara and wand. While you probably won't be able to make your child's wand and tiara look just like her favorite princess's, help her choose colors, jewels, stickers and designs that her favorite princess would probably like based on what she wears in the book or movie.

4. Use ribbon and more felt to create a multi-colored tiara and wand. Have children cut out shapes -- hearts, flowers and stars are some favorites -- from different colored felt. Then have children glue these shapes to their tiaras and wands. Provide ribbon in different colors and with different patterns, and allow children to tie it onto their wands, use it as strings to secure their tiaras, and make it into bows that they glue to either accessory.

Tips & Warnings

• Some decorative ideas, like those that use glue or scissors, are too advanced for very young children. Ask young children to pick out decorations and tell you where to put them. Then cut or glue them yourself to prevent injury.