I have a fun mad hatter headband craft in literature. Also, you’ll love this post Hands-On Literature: Make Alice in Wonderland Easy Cupcakes.
Did you know that National Mad Hatter Day is November 6th?
It is the perfect excuse to try my craft in literature idea, a fun mad hatter headband.
I created this tutorial out of common craft objects that most of us would have around the house already to make it easy and inexpensive.
You will also find a collection of ideas on how to create a craft in literature for several popular books that we all know and love.
Alice in Wonderland Facts
- The character of Alice was based on a real-life little girl named Alice Liddell who was the daughter of Carroll’s boss, Henry Liddell, the dean of Christ Church College at Oxford.
- Lewis Carroll’s real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson
- The book was originally titled Alice’s Adventures Under Ground on the handwritten manuscript. A few more possible titles were Alice’s Hour in Elf Land and Alice Among the Fairies.
- The phrase “mad as a hatter” started being used because hat makers often got dementia from the mercury used in curing felt. However, Carroll popularized and licensed the phrase.
- Lewis Carroll suffered from a rare neurological disorder that caused him to have strange hallucinations and affected the size of visual objects, making the objects seem bigger or smaller than they were. Which of course you will see featured throughout the book.
Of course, you want to make sure you have a copy of Lewis Carrol’s classic, Alice In Wonderland.
Next, look at these other literature crafts.
Ideas for Crafts in Literature
9 Crafts in Literature Ideas
Here are another 9 great ideas for craft in literature projects to go along with any of your units or just as a fun activity on its own.
To me, there is only one acceptable movie version of Alice in Wonderland, and that is the 1951 Disney cartoon. I'm sure there's merit to the versions that have come after it, but this will forever be the Cheshire Cat to me.
It’s lovely to see celebrated stories from our childhood come to life. Perhaps you read “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett as a school assignment. Or like me, maybe you saw the 1987 Hallmark film, fell in love with the story and then discovered the book. Maybe you are brand-new to learning about the story because just recently heard about film that will be released later this year.
When I think of how I can create a Swiss Family Robinson unit study that is more than just a literature study the first thing that comes to mind is survival.
Quick & Easy Stained Glass Suncatcher Craft Inspired by The Green Ember
This Green Ember suncatcher came to be as my daughter and I finished reading S.D. Smith’s The Green Ember with our FaceTime Book Club friends. We wanted to create something to document our time reading it, but that would also capture the spirit of story
Today in 1884 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published and was banned quickly. And because reading should be fun, I have a fun stem raft craft to go along with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn homeschool literature.
We’re just finished with Charlotte’s Web, a favorite of mine from growing up. To add a little more Charlotte’s Web to our day, we did this watercolor web as an art project.
Spring is here, and that means most of us homeschooling mamas are getting out all our nature study materials, making notes, and organizing some fun educational activities to get our kids outside and learning some science (without them even realizing they are learning science).
Finally, how to make this mad hatter head band.
How to Make a Fun Mad Hatter Headband
Create your own mad hatter headband with things that are probably already in your craft supplies to wear to an afternoon tea party, co-op, book club, or just for fun.
You will need:
- Black craft foam
- Headband
- Ribbon
- Craft feathers
- Pipe cleaner
- Playing card
- Hot glue gun/sticks
You could also add flowers or other little trinkets to make it your own.
First, use a circular object to trace a circle somewhere between 3 ½” -5” across.
Cut an 11”x 5” rectangle out of black foam.
How to Make a Fun Mad Hatter Headband
Roll the black rectangle so that one end is narrower than the other, the smaller end should fit on your circle with at least 1” all the way around.
Hot glue into place and cut off the ends so they are straight.
Wrap the rolled piece of craft foam in ribbon at the smaller end, and line up the seams with the ones on the craft foam, we are going to cover those up in a bit.
Trace the wide end on craft foam and cut out the circle to create the top of the hat.
Slip just inside the top of the hat and hot glue a little bit at a time all the way around.
Run a thick bead of hot glue around the smaller end with the ribbon and press it into place on the circle that will form the brim, hold it in place until the glue hardens.
Create a fun fanciful twist by wrapping a pipe cleaner around your finger.
Tuck the twist, and a little white piece of craft foam with 10/6 (the Mad Hatter’s hat size) inside the ribbon, place over the seam, and secure with hot glue.
Cut a Queen of Hearts card in half and slip into the ribbon, covering a little more of the seam.
Finish disguising the seam with colorful feathers glued into place over it.
Apply a thick puddle of hot glue to the center of the underside of the hat, and allow it to cool slightly, press the headband into glue and hold until dried.
Cut a small piece of foam and cover the hot glue puddle if you like.
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