How to Make a String Phone

Although the old-fashioned tin can phones are an interesting way for kids to communicate, the plain cans and string don't necessarily make eye-catching toys. Use these tips to help your kids customize a pair of phones that they'll actually want to keep once the conversation is over.

Things You'll Need

• Plastic cups
• Paints and brushes
• Sponge stamps
• Stickers or die cuts
• Foam shapes
• Gems, buttons or beads
• Glitter glue
• Nail
• Colored string
• Paper clips

Instructions

1. Use colorful plastic cups to serve as the string phone's "handsets" so they'll be eye-catching even if your kids don't have time to completely decorate them.

2. Let the kids paint the outside of the cups with their favorite colors. They can create plaids, stripes and designs with small brushes or add instant images with foam or sponge stamps. You can design your own sponge stamps by tracing a cookie cutter onto the sponge and cutting the shape out with sharp scissors.

3. Personalize further by decorating the cups once the paint has dried with stickers, small die cuts or self-adhesive foam shapes. Find letter shapes so the kids can add their names up the sides of their string phone (see Resources).

4. Add glamor by affixing gems, rhinestones, clear buttons or beads with glue. They can also use glitter glue to adhere the items and to design pretty borders around the top and bottom of the cups.

5. Punch a small hole in the bottom of each cup with a nail. Thread a piece of colored string, twine or floss up through the bottom of each cup. Tie the ends to a paper clip or large button so the phone won't "disconnect" when the kids pull the string taut to talk and listen through the decorated handsets.

Resources

• Start with colorful plastic cups.
• Foam shapes make personalizing easy.
• Colored string adds pizzazz