Creating An Easy Native American Doll, Try It With Brown Paper Coffee Cup & Soft Plastic Ball!
In this post, I will be sharing an art project that Lauren did in Brightly Beaming Resources' (Step 2: Letter of the Week) home school curriculum, Click Here To Find Out Why We Are Doing Homeschooling. Lauren made her native American dolls using styro cup and styrofoam balls.
original handmade version native american paper cup doll
We created most parts and details of our dolls by hand but I will be sharing how you can get creative with your own native American paper cup dolls without having to paint the cups and balls if you prefer a mess free activity.
READY FOR KID BEFORE STARTING ACTIVITY ALONG WITH OTHER MATERIALS (MESS FREE VERSION)
* brown paper cup (with cut bottom)
* cut slit on plastic ball (for inserting yarn strands)
* cut strands of black yarn (for doll hair)
* cut head accessories (strip of pattern paper and feathers)
* cut clothes accesory (strip of pattern papers)
* cut brown box cardboard (as doll arms or sleeves)
DONE BY ADULT OR PARENT
* Native American Teepee: If you want, you could let your child create a teepee along with their native American doll, Click Here To Check Out FREE Printable Native American Teepee Template. They have 3 kinds of teepee templates: plain teepee (blank, that your child can personally create and color their own designs into), teepee coloring page (black & white designs, that your child can color), and colored teepee (with colored designs, ready to cut and assemble).
* Native American Doll Body: Take a brown paper cup and cut the bottom part using utility knife. This will allow the plastic ball head to sit into the hole (as seen in the sample image below).
painted version of styro cup and foam ball
* Native American Headband: Take native American tribal pattern paper and print on heavy weight paper such as card stock, vellum board, specialty board or any paper of similar texture. Let child choose the color and patterns they like. Draw a thin line on the printed pattern paper using a ruler then cut the strip. Measure around plastic ball head and cut to desired length.
Check out the links below for some FREE download Native American Patterns. After download, extract from folder then right click on pattern image. Next choose "print" in the pop up that appears, PAPER SIZE: "letter" and on the right side thumbnail choose "full page photo" and below check "fit picture to frame" then click on PRINT.
* FREE Download Flat Native American Pattern from freepik
* Feather Head Accessory: Take craft feathers in natural colors such as white, black & brown you can also add in orange or red colored feather to the variety.
* Eyes, Nose, & Mouth: Prepare some googly eyes, thumbtacks or round push pins for the nose and a black or red permanent marker to draw a mouth on the doll face later.
materials to make easy native american paper cup doll
* Doll Sleeves: Take a thick empty brown box cardboard and create a sleeve arm pattern on it using ruler. Cut pattern.
DONE BY CHILD
* glue paper cup body and ball head together
STEPS IN MAKING THIS NATIVE AMERICAN CRAFT
STEP #1: Let child glue plastic ball head to paper cup body. Put hot glue all around the cut paper cup area and assist child to glue plastic ball on it.
painted version using stryfoam ball
STEP #2: Next, let child insert strands of yarn into cut slit on the plastic ball to create hair of doll. After, forming the hair let child glue some googly eyes on the ball (with assistance if needed) using hot melt glue and insert push pin for the nose then let child draw a little mouth using permanent marker.
STEP #3: Next, let child add feathers using hot melt glue then glue a strip of pattern paper all around the head using white glue to complete the doll head accessory.
STEP #4: Next, let child complete the doll body by gluing in a strip of pattern paper as clothes collar and another strip of pattern paper around the doll waist area as belt accessory. Then glue the cardboard sleeves on the side of the doll body using hot melt glue.
original handmade version native american paper cup doll
STEP #5: Finally, add a necklace accessory. Cut a short strand of embroidery thread and insert a lacing bead then let child attach the necklace accessory towards the back of the doll secure with hot melt glue.
MATERIALS FOR THIS CRAFT
I'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU
If you got any thoughts or questions regarding this craft, feel free to interact and write it down in the comment box below. I'd be happy to hear from you. Thank you so much for viewing and reading.
POST UPDATED: September 2025
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