The Craft Connection

Make a Dreamcatcher

by Shannon McMath

We’ve all been there - struggling through the day, exhausted, because our child was plagued with bad dreams the night before. Well say goodbye to those restless nights and to those unwelcome dreams with this dreamcatcher craft. Because it inspires good thoughts of what your child WANTS to be dreaming about, it will help ease them back to sleep in the event that a nightmare rears it’s ugly head!

As tradition goes, a dreamcatcher catches bad dreams in its web and lets the good dreams flow through the hole in the middle. This craft takes the Native American tradition and adds a little modern day twist by incorporating objects to help inspire some wonderful dreams. No need to track down beads and feathers for this dreamcatcher – some small toys and photos will do the trick!

What You Need:

• Plastic container lid – we used a large one from a tub of ice cream
• Wide ribbon
• Thin ribbon
• Scissors
• Knife
• Little things to dream about – small toys or photographs

How You Make It:

1. The first step is to turn your lid into a ring. This is definitely something an adult must do. Using a sharp knife, cut the center out of the lid, resulting in a 1” thick plastic ring.
2. Now take your wide ribbon (we used mint green) and begin wrapping it around the plastic. Make sure to cover the whole thing to make it look nice. When you get all the way around, tie it off with a knot.
3. Next you will “weave” the web that catches all of the bad dreams. Simply begin by tying the thin ribbon onto the ring. Then, guide it across to the opposite side of the ring and tie off. Continue doing this until you have a nice web design. Just be sure to leave an opening near the middle to let the good dreams in!
4. Here’s the really fun part – discuss with your child what they might like to dream about then find representations of those dreams by choosing small toys from his/her room or maybe a photograph. For the example, my daughter wanted to dream about ponies, flowers, Hotwheels and playing with her cousin Jack.
   
5. The final touch is to find a place in your child’s room to hang this lovely dreamcatcher. Choose a spot where it can be gazed at and the next time you’re called in because of a bad dream, you can reference the dream catcher to help her fall asleep with ease. No more sleepless nights!

Tips & Variations