Hot air balloons are incredible, aren’t they?  While I haven’t been on one (yet), it is always amazing to see one just floating in the sky.  I remember one time before my daughter was born, my husband and I were just getting into our car in front of our house when we heard this sound and when we looked outside and up, it was this HUGE hot air balloon just starting to float up above our neighborhood.  I remember just cracking up together because it was so random.  Maybe one day I will get to ride in a hot air balloon, but for not, that memory and this ornament are enough to keep my feet on the ground…

Materials

• Pipe cleaners
• Paper Straws (colors & patterns)
• Brown paper
• String or yarn
• Ribbon
• Scissors

Directions

1. Cut the paper straws into smaller pieces (about 1″).  Make sure that the pieces aren’t too long or they might be too difficult to thread.

2.  Take 2 pipe cleaners and twist them together in the middle, forming an X.  Before the next step, you can start to form the balloon shape by rounding 2 of the ends.

3.  Begin threading the cut straws onto the pipe cleaners.  We used about 5 straw pieces on the outer ends and 4 in the middle.

4.  Once all the straws are threaded, twist the ends together, bending the pipe cleaners as needed to create a 3D hot air balloon shape

5. Tie 2 pieces of string or yarn to the bottom of the balloon (where the pipe cleaners are still showing).

6.  Cut out a small rectangle from the brown paper for the basket.  )We decided to get a little fancy and give it some texture with some folds, but that’s not necessary).

7.  Tape the strings from the “balloon” to the back of the rectangle

8.  Finish your ornament by tying a loop of ribbon or yarn from the top.

9.  Hang them wherever you’d like!

This is a great activity for little ones because the pipe cleaners are stiff enough to make it easier to thread (compared to thin yarn) and because it gives them a chance to develop their fine motor skills.  While we stuck with one color for each balloon, feel free to mix up the colors and patterns!  (You could even have your kids practice creating patterns with the colors).

On another note, I’m going back to work next week… but don’t worry – the crafts and music will keep coming!  (That’s what Saturdays are for, right?)

I wish you all a wonderful end to your summer and a smooth transition into the fall!

Happy crafting and music making!

– Hannah