Mardi Gras Craft: Paint Stick Jester

A paint stick jester is a fun and easy craft you can make with your kids to help celebrate Mardi Gras! Make a bunch of these paint stick jesters and have a Mardi Gras puppet show. Or tuck them in a vase for a colorful Mardi Gras party centerpiece. When the party is over, hand the jesters out as party favors!

To make a jester on a paint stick, all you need are paint sticks, construction paper in various colors, and other craft supplies such as glue, scissors, etc. You might also want some wiggle eyes and jingle bells, but those items are not necessary.

To get an idea of what a paint stick jester can look like, click here to see an image. Your jester can look any way you want it to look, however, the image will give you a good idea of the basic design to help get you started.

Cut a round face out of white construction paper, then cut the hat pieces out of different colors of construction paper. You can cut the pieces freehand, or you can use this template provided by kaboose.com. If you want your paint stick jester to have a face with definition, you can use a small, dessert size white paper plate. If you want a very colorful jester, you can use magazine pages to cut the hat points.

Glue the hat points to the back of the face using the image as a guide for placement. You can then fold over the top point and glue it to the face as seen in the photo. Or, you can leave it loose so it bounces around while you play with the jester.

Add a face to the jester by gluing on construction paper cut outs, or by drawing or painting on a face. You can add wiggle eyes if you like, or you can just draw them on. Alternately, you could use buttons as the eyes. You could even use milk just caps for the eyes for a 3D effect.

For a true jester look, you will need bells on the ends of the hat points. You can buy little jingle bells in any craft store, or in the craft section at Walmart. If you don't have bells, you can cut circles out of yellow construction paper. Or you can glue on buttons or any round object you have on hand. Pom poms will also work nicely!

When your jester is finished, glue it to a paint stick. You can usually get paint sticks for free, or for only pennies, at any paint store. If you don't have paint sticks, you can make your own "stick" by folding a sheet of newspaper over and over again then taping it closed. You can also use several layers of card stock or cut cereal boxes. For small paint stick jesters, you can use popsicle sticks!

Sources for image link and template: crafts.kaboose.com