Activities & Days Out / 8 June, 2017 / Nanny Anita
I am sure you have all seen/heard of/ or even bought a fidget spinner by now, and if you haven’t where have you been? This toy is the latest crazy to hit. They kind of remind me of when yo-yos were really big back in the late 90s. EC and YC are obsessed with them; they have at least 2 or 3 each! As they never seem to be far away from one, I thought that it would be fun to try and make our own ones. Store bought fidget spinners will most likely have ball bearings in, the ones that we made do not have them. You will be able to make them from items that you will have at home.
I will apologise now if the instructions are hard to follow, I am currently nursing a heavy cold and I am not sure my brain is working properly.
Make sure you follow my homemade toys board on Pinterest, and don’t forget to save the pin for later.
To make our templates we drew around fidget spinners that we already own. If you don’t have any to hand, then draw a rough copy on a piece of paper first. You will need to make sure that it is symmetrical.
We used both a thicker cardboard and a thinner one, like the type cereal boxes are made from. They both worked just as well as each other. You will need to cut out two of your fidget spinners. Then cut out two smaller circles, slightly smaller than the size of a 1p.
Use the pin to make a small hole in the centre of both your fidget spinners and circles.
Next use the toothpick to make it bigger, and finally use the sharp end of the scissors to make the hole in the fidget spinners slightly bigger (not the circles). Make sure that it is big enough but them onto the toothpick and try and twirl them around. If they move freely around it then it is perfect.
Decorate your spinners and then glue them together.
Then glue a penny into each of the ends of your spinner. If it has 3 prongs, you will need 3 pennies etc. You can use PVA glue for this, but we used a hot glue gun. It dries quicker, and I find it is slightly firmer than PVA.
The next part is slightly fiddly. Cut of the sharp ends of the toothpick, and then push the first circle all the way to the end of the stick. Cover the circle (and the top of the toothpick) in glue and let it dry. Push the fidget spinner onto the toothpick and finally add the last circle. Make sure that you don’t push it all together too hard or it wont spin. You need a small gap between the circles and the spinner. When you have it in the perfect position glue around the toothpick where it touches the top of the circle. When that has dried, cut the remainder of the toothpick off.
You know have your own homemade fidget spinners! They don’t spin as long as the ball bearing ones, but they are just as satisfying.
Just a quick reminder about hot glue guns – they get HOT! I’ve never had an issue with EC or YC using our one. I am always supervising and remind them that it is hot. Well guess who decided not to listen this time! If you touch the glue, chances are you won’t burn yourself. It is kind of like touching hot wax; it can be painful to begin with but fine seconds later. HOWEVER, if you touch the tip of the gun itself, that will burn. EC now has a wonderful blister on the side of his finger where he touched it (even though I had literally said to him 5 times to leave the gun alone). Hopefully now he will heed my warnings.
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