Make Your Own Paper Plate Purse

They gravitate to the toy purses time after time. Those purses get more action than anything else in the dress-up bin. No matter what’s going on in the toy room, someone is almost always carrying one, and most often, it’s stuffed full of tiny treasures: puzzle pieces, play food, scraps of ribbon and yarn.

To peek inside a play purse at the end of the day is to get a secret glimpse into a the imagination of a child. The items I find often humour me and always open my eyes to how creative children are when they play.

Whether it’s because kids love the feeling of ownership that comes with carrying a purse full of trinkets, or whether it’s that carrying a purse makes them feel grown-up when they’re role-playing, one thing is for certain, kids love a play purse.

Earlier this week, the hooligans spent a morning making their own custom-designed paper plate purses. It was a fun, creative process, jam-packed with skill-development.

The project gave them an opportunity to create a design, to explore textiles (buttons, ribbons, yarn), to use tools (stapler, glue gun, hole punch), and to learn some early sewing stitches.

Let me show you how your kids can make some purses of their own.

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What You'll Need:

• one paper plate cut in half
• paint
• paintbrushes
• stapler
• hole punch
• ribbon
• buttons
• glue or low-heat glue gun
• plastic sewing needle
• yarn

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How It's Made:

Start by painting both halves of your paper plate. You only need to paint the backside of the plate because that’s what will face “out” on your purse. However, if you like, you can paint the front AND back like this little one did.

When your plate is dry, match up both halves of the plate with the front sides facing each other. Staple all around the curved edge of the plate leaving the top open.

Ribbons, buttons and bows can be glued on to add some pizazz to your purse. We used low-heat glue guns for this part because the glue dries quickly, and does a good job of holding big buttons and ribbons in place.

Now, if your kids are up for learning how to sew some basic stitches, have them select some colourful yarn. 

Punch holes around the curved edge of the paper plate, spacing them an inch or so apart.  Stitch all around the edge of the plate, and finish by adding a long length of yarn as a purse strap.

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And now your child has a purse of his or her very own to fill with whatever treasures they please.

One of the hooligan said she was “a mom," and she stocked hers with kleenex, a glue stick, a pen and a key chain. Two of the girls said their purses were Easter baskets, and they proceeded to fill them with Easter-related goodies in our craft room.

Here’s one, stuffed with tissue paper, pom pom “Easter eggs” and the adorable cardboard roll “chocolate” Easter bunnies we made the other day.

The fourth child added a handful of play money to hers, and proclaimed that she was going shopping.

Ahhh, the imagination of a child. If you’ll excuse us now, we’re off to play.