“If you have bad dreams you have to spit them out of your mouth and into the dream catcher.”
After a recent visit with some friends in their new house, my daughter could not stop talking about a dream catcher that they had. And she wanted one for herself. Of course. She also wanted a lofted bunk bed, but this isn’t a home decor blog, thank goodness!
The great part about this dream catcher moment is that her actual question was, “Can we MAKE a dream catcher?” Um, yes we can. (scramble, scramble…now how exactly does one make one of these?) When I asked her if she knew what dream catchers are for, she replied, “If you have bad dreams you have to spit them out of your mouth and into the dream catcher.” Well, not exactly, but gosh I’m going to miss these early years! If you want to know the real story behind dream catchers, read this.
What we used
- thin wire
- flexible piece of branch
- embroidery thread
- pom-pom
Twist branch into circular shape and secure it together. Our branch was a little bit short, so we ended up making more of a raindrop shape.
Secure thread with a big knot to the top of the twig and then start wrapping it. I imagined more of a natural color scheme, but my daughter wanted to use red wire and red yarn. Fair enough…it’s her dream catcher after all.
For a good tutorial on how and where to make these knots, read these instructions.
Many dream catchers are embellished with a feather, but N had her heart set on a pom-pom. A shiny pom-pom, actually.
We hung it above her bed with the hope that the pesky dreams might get tangled up in the yarn, while the good dreams could easily pass through the holes. Based on our experiences thus far there might be better ways to handle bad dreams, but it sure is nice to have a little bit of security dangling above us in those fragile moments.
Other ideas
left to right
1) Step-by-step tutorial on making a dream catcher from Hands on Crafts for Kids
2) Dream catchers made from Yogurt Lids from That Artist Woman
3) Make a simple dream catcher from a paper plate from 4 Crazy Kings
4) Whimsical Dream Catcher featured in Cookie Magazine from Nest Pretty Things on Etsy
too crazy – this is on our list of projects to do this week! my daughter and i gathered some flexible branches in the front yard today and talked about what dreamcatchers are, and she can’t wait to have one. we are on the same wavelength for sure! thanks for this post – i’m sure it’ll be helpful to us, too!
Hey Jen! There must be something in the air around here!? While I did most of the work (with my daughter dictating the handiwork, of course), I bet that Novi will be able to construct this on her own. Look forward to hearing about it.
Rachelle,
The shiny pompom is such a nice idea.
Ane dreamcatchers are a really such a good idea for small children and as well anyone.
Brenda
When my boys were little (they’re now 29 & 30), they had sheets with lions on them. One night my oldest had a bad dream, and as the boys slept in the same bed, and to keep him from waking his brother, I told him that the lions on sheet on the other bed were there to protect them. I took the top sheet off the other bed and threw it over the boys. Then I told him that the lions on both beds would keep them safe so no more bad dreams or monsters could be allowed in the house. Neither one ever had a bad dream again. 🙂
What a lovely idea, Viktorija! Thank you for sharing this with us. I will be on the hunt for lion sheets!