Paper Bag Hats
Create paper hats by the classroom! Use them to decorate for the Book Fair and wear during "Hats Off to Reading" week. Theme the hats for added fun, for example: work hats, play hats, formal hats, future hats, hats from the past.

Cost: $0 to $3.00
Time: 5 minutes to 1 hour, depending on complexity

Here's how to create it:

• Find a medium-sized brown paper bag (approximately 8 x 15 inches)
• Decorate the bag — use markers, paint, construction paper, stars, glitter, feathers, cotton balls, twine, ribbons…you name it!
• Create the "brim" by opening the bag and holding it upright, as if you are filling it.
• Carefully turn down the edge of the bag all around, after which you can easily roll the edge to the desired depth with your curled hands.

Each of the following hats began life as a paper bag. Use these as inspiration, and create your own!

Clifford Clifford springs from a bag with handles, which were removed and reused as his "hair" and eyebrows. He is spray painted red, then ears, tongue, nose and white ovals for eyes are glued in place. A black marker fills in the facial features.

Wizard's Cap The Wizard's Cap is a sliced and overlapped bag, worked into a cone with taped seams inside. Apply purple spray paint, coil a short length of specialty star garland, and eat several pricey chocolates so you can use the gold "cups" for the precious trim.

The Book Fair Bunny Begins 6 inches from the bottom of the bag, which is pinched for cheeks and folded to hold ears. White-paper oval eyes, drawn in with a marker, sit above two spray-painted cotton balls that do little to diminish the prominent, white-cardboard teeth.

The Heidi This hat is painted first, then split front and back; each side is folded away from the center, scrunched and tapered upward into a point. Yarn braids taped inside complete the Alpine effect.

Blue Beanie with Propeller Use the top 5 inches of a medium bag, pleat and round it into a beanie shape and spray paint blue. To form the tiny propeller base, tightly roll a small piece of cardboard or heavy paper into a 3/4-inch long, 1/2-inch wide cylinder. Hot glue the base, the two propellers and red center into place. Propeller does not spin.