DIY Paper Kites

Windy afternoon and nothing to do? Make a paper kite. With a few simple office supplies laying around the apartment, you can make your own custom one-of-a-kind paper kite in a few hours. You will need:

String (butchers twine works well or button thread)
Light weight wood strips
Paper ( We used tissue paper layered double, but you can also use newspaper, crepe paper, gift wrap, or any light weight paper lying around the house)
Glue (We used those scrapbooking instant glue to make ours which is SUPER fast)
Scissors
Paper Cutter (Optional, but handy)

(Thanks everyone who came out for the Acorn to Oak Handmade Etsy Team October meeting! And a special thanks to Nick Wentworth for making us all laugh with Twilight Vampire Kites.)

Take your stick and cut it in two. In general kites measure 20+ inches by 40+ inches which is a 5 foot long stick if you do the math. You can harvest sticks or brush out of your back yard for free if you live in the country or use balsa wood or dowel rods if you live in the city. After you measure the stick, cut it. You can use a paper cutter (pictured here is our Paper Cutter of Death at Techshop RD) or any basic cutting instrument that gets the job done.

With a pair of scissor notch each of the four ends to give the string something to lay in when you start tying it together.

With string, wrap the two sticks together at the half-way point. You can do this be doing 5-6 cross hatches and tying a simple, but tight granny knot. Voila, you have an instant cross to ward off vampires! Most excellent. It also makes a good frame for a kite. :-)

Taking one point, use your notch to act as a hold point for the string. Wrap the thread or twine several times around and move to the next point. When you get done you should have all 4 points of the kite connected.

So, if you read kite making directions they talk about using paste glue and letting it drive overnight. We all cheat and use instant scrapbooking glue/tape you can buy at Michaels because we're impatient people, but you can use whatever you want. Glue your tissue paper (double sheets is better) or any other light weight paper you have lying around (newspaper, computer paper, crepe paper, wax paper...etc.) together with 2 rows of glue. Your final area should be bigger the the kite frame by at least 1 inch).

       With a pen trace around the kite frame an extra 2 inches.

Taking your scissors, cut out the diamond you just drew with your marker.

      This is the most fun part in my opinion. Crack open your box of markers, crayons, or any drawing instrument and make your design. Mine is done in crayons (most fun), but other people used more adult tools like markers...etc. As long as you have fun. That's what counts.

Once you have finished your design, place it under your frame with the picture facing outward underneath. Tape the paper around the string, working your way around. You need to fold the corners down to make it easy to attach anything you might need later like the bridle or a flashy ribbon tail.

Now that you've finished your kite, you need to fly it. To do this, you need to attach a piece of string called the "bridle" from one side to the other. The piece should be fairly long and form a triangle with the base. This is how you control the kite to fly it. In the middle of the bridle or piece of string, tie your kite line to fly it. At least 100 ft. is ideal, many kite lines are closer to 500 feet.

As a fun optional last step, add a tail from the bottom with ribbon, tissue paper, or paper. People will tie all kinds of things to the end of their kite to give it stability. Viola, you have the perfect instant paper kite. Happy flying! Go enjoy this beautiful windy fall weather we're having.