Summer Fun with Paper Fans

Here is a great craft to make with restless kids on a hot summer day: fans! My kids love those cheapy paper fans at the dollar store; however, no sooner do we get home those pretty fans are broken and littered all over my mini van. These gems I found in Family Fun magazine. They are sturdier than the dollar store fans (a duh!) AND the kids get to design them themselves! So massive kudos for kid kreativity!! Yay for us!Materials needed:
1 piece of cardstock 6x12
double sided tape or glue
stapler
2 craft sticks
tiny rubber band (we used the baby's rubber hair ties)
To get started the first thing you need is a piece of cardstock cut to 6x12 size
Begin an accordion fold on the top at about a width of 1" Do not fold the way I did in the picture or you will get a white fan. Start your fold with the design side face down on the table. Then make your fold so that you see a one inch strip of design paper against a white backdrop.
Continue with the accordian fold until the entire paper has been folded (So simple seriously. It hurts to write this knowing you are probably already all over this by now)
Bring the accordian fold together and staple the middle. I used two staples next to each other.
With your glue, adhere the top fold together. You can use regular tape to seal the edge so it won't split.
Take your double sided tape (preferred but we used scrapbook glue.) With the stapled side facing up place the tape or glue one half of the craft stick then adhere to the bottom flaps of both sides. Wrap your rubber band around the bottom of the craft sticks to hold the fan together until the glue dries.
Wallah! Instant Southern air conditioning. All we need is the sweet tea. Woo-hoo! Yay for fun!