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Friday, July 10, 2009

How to Make Mini Teepees/Tipi



Here is another project in honor of the Calgary Stampede. Whenever we go down to the grounds my kids always want to visit the Indian Village. They love visiting the traditional teepees and trying out the bannock.
Here is our take on the Indian Village at home.


MATERIALS REQUIRED:
lightweight cardboard or cardstock
ruler or bone folder
scissors
glue
paint
markers
glue
twig
mod podge (optional)



Print out the templates. I made up two sizes for you. Trace onto some lightweight cardboard like from a cereal box.


You want to mark your fold lines. Best way to do this is while the template is been traced mark where the fold lines meet at the top as well as the where they start at the bottom. Remove template and then using a ruler dot in the fold lines.





Cut out.









Now with your fingers fold on the fold lines and then using a ruler or bone folder smooth then down for a good fold.








We fold first because once you start painting you can't see your fold lines anymore.
Paint your teepee. I'm using acrylic craft paint. If you want to skip this step you can just use colored cardstock.




I painted the inside grey but this is optional.















Using paint or markers decorate your teepees.

I also added a wash of watered down brown paint for an antiqued look.

Take your twig and break off some 2 inch pieces. Using glue...glue these down at the top on 2 different sections. Let dry.







Put some glue on the small tab and fold up your teepee...the small tab will attach to the larger tab and both of them should be folded to the inside.






If you want you can add a coat or two of Mod Podge. The kids were itching to play with these and I thought they would make a nice addition to the Nature Table for the summer so I wanted them to last.

That's it. Why not make a teepee village this summer!
We are packing up for a 2 week camping trip. We are borrowing my brother's trailer and hitting the road...this will be a new experience for the kids. I'm still planning to post along the way so stayed tuned for some "camping crafts" in the upcoming weeks.
Take care.
gail

35 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. They r very nice! I like your ideas!:)

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  2. these are adorable, wish I had this pattern a few weeks ago when we did our wild west studies, would like to post a link back here anyway!!!

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  3. These are beautiful...I have wanted to make your miniature garden for some time but could not find houses of the right size...Looks like you provided the answer yourself...these teepes will do perfectly for my version of your miniature garden...:-)...thank you...

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  4. love this idea! i just spent a while going through your tutorials and they are so great! i am definatly going to be a follower!

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  5. Wow! What a great blog. I'm excited to have found you, and I plan on getting a lot of inspiration here! I'm going to start following you. --Jennifer syrendell.blogspot.com

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  6. Another great idea for a holiday tree ornament! How cute are these? And I just loved how you displayed them with one of your paintings at the end of the post.

    Pam from Gingerbread Snowflakes

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  7. I used these teepes for my History Native American Teepee Project. They're brilliant!!!

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  8. I think that you have good taste. I hope you have a nice vacation. make sure you keep me on update.

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  9. I really like da technique with making da tipis;
    i made 2 for my school's project;
    it was easy and got good marks on it.

    thanxxxx =D

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  10. We're doing a Cowboy and Indian theme for cub scouts this month, and this is just perfect! Thank you so much!

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  11. These are so cool! I love them! Great idea, thank you.

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  12. Thank you for sharing the teepe making with everybody ! My daughter needed for a school project, and now that I found your site, I will be always coming back !

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  13. very good idea , thanks for sharing
    http://www.mantialdivino.com/

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  14. Great! I had to make a teepe for homework on the Native Americans and there were so easy to make and i think im gonna get a great mark!

    Thanks for updating this!

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  15. i made these for a project at school. good good marks on it. helped me alot. thanks

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  16. These are fantastic! How do I get the dimensions?

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  17. This may be the best tipi making ideas for children. My son and daughter found these easy to make for a project they had at school.

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  18. thank you this was very helpful because i had lost my paper i had for class so i had to do this and the instructions are very precise and specific really easy thank you you saved my life

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  19. These are great! Thank you!!

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  20. thank u for making an website full of projects and art cuz im a fifth grader and im doin an oregon trail game at school so far we made a poster that would of hanged on one of the buildings in the 1840s and now we are supposed to make a moblie like the ones on a crib but my idea is to make a tipi on top and have stuff hangin from it thanks u made it more easier for me cuz wen ever i get a project from school i start to panic cuz i dont kno wat to do and think that is i do some thing wrong i might fail :( but u proved me wrong thank u u are the best!!!!!!!

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  21. Your website is wonderful. Thank you for the time you have put into it in order to make things easier for the rest of us. We're doing an art workshop for kids and the instructor changed her mind at the last minute, which left some children very disappointed. I'm not an artist or crafts person and had no idea what to do. The first Sat. is Native American art and you have helped save us. Thank you.

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  22. I would like to use your teepee template for a craft activity in my daughters YMCA Indian Princess program. Would it be possible to have access or could you email me the template. Thank You. ryancmaker@gmail.com

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  23. i am going to use them for my socail studies project i am gonna rock it

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  24. Thank you! Used this today for my son's 4th grade Native American Studies project. Best instructions I could find online.

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  25. Thank you! I had a pattern just like this and misplaced it in my classroom last year. The kids make there own teepee at home as a project and set it on a larger square, glue sand around it, place it on table for Thanksgiving Dinner at school.

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  26. love the idea. going to work on the project with my child

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  27. Im in 5th grade and needed to make a tepee for my project so im making this one its pretty.

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  28. hI, The teepee template doesn't work!!I love them, great job

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