DIY Peg Doll Maypole

 Hello, I'm so very excited to share this tutorial with you. Panda's birthday is coming and this year we are giving only handmade gifts to our boys. Panda loves his peg dolls and things that move. Mayday is coming and so the idea of a Maypole popped into my mind...

  But It Had To Move...

I used:

 a blank wood clock face (bought at a craft store and squirreled away years ago),

a thin circle of balsa craft wood

two wood wheels

a chopstick

ribbon

a circle of felt (not pictured)

and six rainbow colored plastic caps that fit the bottom of Panda's peg people.

(I had everything on hand except an orange and a purple cap.. Those I made Bear search High and low for much to his dismay.)

 First widen the holes on the wheels with a drill to make the chopstick fit. Then hot glue the chopstick and one wheel to the base. The wheel gives added stability to the pole. The green caps in the picture are just a hair taller than the wheel to help keep the second wood circle level for the next step. They are not glued down.

Next, drill a hole into the wood circle, slip it over the chopstick. and then glue the second wheel at the top of the chopstick. The wood circle should move freely. 

Hot glue the ribbons to the top of the wheel and around the side. I wanted to be sure they were firmly glued in so they would last through my boy's not so gentle play.

Pull the ribbon down and glue it just so there will be enough room to add the cap. It should be just taught enough that when the green caps are removed from underneath the wood circle does not rest on the wheel, but hangs freely.

see? The slack disappears once the cap is  glued on.

Almost done now.

Last of all I added a circle of felt to the bottom of the base to keep the wood from scuffing tables. 

SPIN!!

Ta DAH! I can't wait to see the look on his face when he opens this up. Let me know if you make one. or have some other Peg People ideas. I would love to hear about them in the comments below. 

Thanks for visiting.

Shine on!

VIDEO UPDATE