Easy Dream Catcher Craft

This easy dream catcher craft was inspired by my daughter’s refusal to sleep haha. At this point, she has definitely established a firm reputation as being a difficult sleeper. We’ve finally gotten her to a point where she uuuuusually will go to sleep with little-to-no trouble, but sometimes she just can’t help herself haha!

For the past few months, Lulu has occasionally decided various toys in her room were scary or “being loud” and keeping her awake. She has a flair for the dramatics, so there have been nights I’ve tripped over a pile of toys in the hallway in front of her door!

Lulu’s fear of monsters at night reminded me of something- dream catchers! Native Americans used to put these little beauties in windows or above beds to “trap” nightmares and only allow good dreams through. Pretty cool, huh?

I don’t personally believe they have the power to do this, but adding things I enjoy to my space always puts me in a good place mentally for bedtime.

This easy dream catcher craft is probably better suited for school aged children (think 5 and up) if you want them to do it more on their own, but Lulu and I tackled this one together and it was a blast.

Here are the supplies you’ll need:

• Embroidery hoop (or wire hanger*)
• Washi tape (can be replaced by extra scrap fabric)
• Colorful string or yarn
• A variety of beads
• Cardboard
• One or two paints

*I try to keep crafts as low-cost as possible. So if you don’t have an embroidery hoop and don’t want to go buy one, check your closets for a wire hanger. Just bend it into a circle and voila- you have a hoop! Bonus for having a built-in way to hang it after 😉

1. Cover hoop with washi tape

Take your washi tape or scrap fabric and wrap it around the entire hoop. I preferred using washi tape so that Lulu could help out some. If you use fabric then you’ll need to also use a hot glue gun to keep it secured to the hoop.

I still ended up mainly doing this part because it was difficult for Lu to wrap the tape tightly. Plus she wanted to stick washi tape all over the walls, as per usual whenever the washi tape is out.

2. Wrap string/yarn around the hoop

Wrap the string or yarn tightly around the hoop, looping it around each time to secure it. We used different colors so I just tied the different strings together as we went.

Lulu was able to wrap the string around and pull it to the next spot she wanted it, and after each loop I just tugged it to keep to taut. It was hard to get a picture of us really doing it since I was assisting, but here she is modeling the basic idea of what you’re doing:

3. Bead Time!

We cut various lengths of string and put a bunch of beads on them. To get spaces between the beads like we have: simply tie off the top of your current section, and then make another knot a few inches away!

Once you finish stringing the beads, tie them along the bottom of the hoop along with any fabric scraps you want to add.

4. Extra Decorations

For a little extra pizzazz, I cut out a moon and star to attach to the strings. Lulu painted them and once they were dry we glued them on.

I used regular glue and let her put them on, but I have a feeling they won’t stay on for very long, so I recommend just adding a little hot or super glue instead.

That’s it! Tie a small string around the top and hang your creation somewhere in your kiddo’s room so they can admire their new craft. It takes a bit of time to finish, but is oh so worth it to let them do it themselves!

Can you believe how easy it is to make your own dream catcher craft? I hope you and your little chiefs enjoy making these dreamies together 🙂

If you’re looking for more art supplies to have on hand for an easier craft time, check out this post for all the essentials! And don’t forget to save this post for later 🙂