It's fun to spin! A collection of DIY toy ideas
What I’d like to introduce this time is a fun handmade toy that’s entertaining when you spin it.
We’ve gathered lots of ideas for toys you can make from familiar materials like paper cups and paper plates, as well as from recyclables like empty boxes and plastic bottle caps.
Once they’re finished, they’re full of clever mechanisms that make you want to spin them again and again! You can get the other materials at 100-yen shops or home improvement stores, so be sure to find a toy you like, make it, and have fun playing with it!
- Moving! Spinning! Flying! Fun handmade toys made with rubber bands
- Made with toilet paper rolls! Exciting and fun easy handmade toys
- Made of paper! A fun collection of DIY toy ideas you can play with
- Fun for elementary school kids! A collection of craft ideas using plastic bottle caps!
- [DIY] A Collection of Handmade Moving Toy Craft Ideas
- Fun and easy toy ideas made from empty Yakult bottles
- Let's make toys with paper cups! Simple and fun handmade toys
- Make It with Pipe Cleaners! A Collection of Simple, Fun, and Playable Toy Ideas
- [For Kids] Spins in the wind! A collection of recommended DIY pinwheel ideas
- Handmade toys with cardboard! DIY game ideas that will captivate kids
- Kids and adults alike will be captivated! A collection of DIY marble run ideas
- Let's make toys with straws! Easy and fun DIY toys
- [Let’s Make and Play!] Handmade Toy Ideas You Can Create Yourself
Fun when you spin them! A collection of handmade toy ideas (11–20)
A spinning top with a helmet-like shapeNEW!
An origami spinning top you can make and play with! Please prepare three sheets of your favorite origami paper.
The inside of the top and the handle can be made simply by repeating the “zabuton” fold.
The outer part adds helmet-like decorations along the edges, so the steps are a bit more detailed, but if you can fold a crane by yourself, you should be able to complete it without any problem.
In the end, you’ll assemble the parts you made to finish a single top.
Using different colors of origami paper for each part lets you enjoy the color effects when it spins.
Be sure to have fun with top battles, too!
Let’s blow and play! How to fold a blow-top (spinning top you spin by blowing)NEW!
This is a fun blow-top origami that spins when you blow on it.
First, prepare two square sheets of origami paper, and place one with the colored side facing down.
Fold it in half into a triangle, then fold it into a triangle once more.
Open it up, then fold it in half into a square and continue with the “zabuton” (cushion) fold.
Using the closed side as the axis, fold up the left and right edges on both sides.
Fold down the triangles on the two faces.
Make two of these and fit them together.
Try blowing on it with a “fuu—.” Blow strongly or gently and enjoy the differences in how it spins!
One sheet of origami! How to fold a spinning top you can display and play withNEW!
This is a spinning top you can make using steps similar to the classic crane.
Please prepare a toothpick-like twig for the handle and axle.
Prepare one sheet of origami, fold it into a triangle twice, then squash the pocketed part into a square.
Next, crease and change the shape into a diamond.
Up to this point, it’s the same as the crane, right? Turn a layer of the paper to change the face, then fold up the bottom corners on both sides to make the origami into a triangle.
Now that you should have four triangles on the sides, make a mountain fold along each triangle’s center line and collapse it sideways, flattening it so each triangle becomes half its size.
When it looks like a pinwheel, flip the origami over and fold the collapsed sections inward to create a spiral pattern.
Insert the toothpick-like twig into the center, and it’s complete.
How to fold a spinning top using two sheets of origami paperNEW!
Here’s how to fold a spinning top that twirls with just a light touch.
First, fold into a triangle twice to make crease lines.
Fold all four corners to the center to set the creases.
Turn the paper over so a corner faces you, then fold that front corner up to the top crease.
Open it and turn to the front, then use the “Kannon” fold to make guiding creases.
Fold the corners along the creases so they overlap into a square.
Shape it into a three-dimensional form like a spinning top—this completes the shaft.
Using another sheet of origami paper, start from the “zabuton” fold to make the body.
Finally, stack the two pieces together and you’re done!
How to fold a playable spinning topNEW!
Here’s a simple spinning top idea made with two sheets of origami paper.
If you can do the “zabuton fold,” where you fold all four corners toward the center, you can make it.
Use the first sheet for the body of the top and the second sheet for the handle.
For the body, do one zabuton fold, then flip the paper over and fold the same way.
Flip the paper over once more and do another zabuton fold.
Then fold the four corners that have gathered on the back outward into triangles, and the body is done.
For the handle, do the zabuton fold three times in a row without flipping, then valley-fold along the diagonal and press it flat.
Insert the handle into the inner, folded-back section of the body to complete the top.
conveyor-belt sushi
Here’s an idea for making a spinning sushi shop using plastic bottle caps.
Get an empty plastic bottle, glue, and a box ready! Cut off the spout of the plastic bottle with scissors.
After cutting, glue it to the box to secure it.
Then stick sushi stickers or drawings onto the bottle caps, and you’re done! When an order comes in, find the cap with the ordered sushi, twist it to unscrew it, and serve it on a plate.
The kids are sure to get excited!
A spinning toy made from plastic bottle caps
We’ll show you how to make a toy using plastic bottle caps that feels satisfying to spin.
One ring is made from 12 plastic bottle caps, so prepare as many caps as you need for the number of rings you want.
Use an awl to make a hole in the center of each cap, thread twine through them, and form a ring.
For the outer frame, use milk cartons.
Stand two milk cartons upright on either side of a piece of cardboard.
Slide the ring you made onto a rod, then insert the rod into both milk cartons like a horizontal bar, and you’re done! If you stuff the milk cartons with newspaper or similar material to reinforce them, they’ll be less likely to tip over.
Spinning round and round: little pig, raccoon dog, fox, and cat.
Here’s an idea for a spinning toy that makes endless tag games fun.
Prepare two paper plates, one straw, and a few sheets of colored paper of your choice.
First, make a hole in the center of one paper plate that’s just big enough for the straw to pass through.
On the other paper plate, leave the outer rim and cut out the upper half of the inner circle.
Cut a piece of colored paper to the same size as the inner circle and draw any illustrations you like.
Snip the end of the straw into several slits to make “octopus legs,” then insert it from the back through the hole in the first plate.
Secure the slitted part with clear tape.
Attach the illustrated colored paper to the part of the straw that’s sticking out, then glue on the paper plate with the window cut out—and you’re done! If you stick on illustrations of a little pig, a raccoon dog, a fox, and a cat, you can keep playing shiritori forever!
twirling spin stick
Here’s an idea for a twirling spinner that’s fun to watch as it falls while spinning.
You’ll need snow blocks, sponge blocks, wire, vinyl tape, glue, and wooden chopsticks.
You can get everything at a 100-yen shop! First, wrap the wire around a chopstick and secure the end with vinyl tape.
Poke the stick into a sponge block to make a hole.
To fix it in place, put some glue into the hole before inserting the stick.
Make several sticks the same way, and you’re done.
If you place the hole of a snow block onto a stick, it’s fun to watch it drop while spinning around and around!
Picture-matching toy made from empty boxes
Here’s how to make a spinning picture-changing toy.
Prepare two empty cylindrical snack boxes, colored construction paper, string, and a pen.
First, cut out the bottom of one box.
Then cut down the side vertically, shrink it slightly to make a smaller circle, and tape it with cellophane tape.
Make several slits around the top edge and fold them inward.
Next, wrap the tube with your favorite color of construction paper, and attach the cut-out bottom piece to the tabs you folded in.
Wrap the other box with colored paper as well.
Once it’s covered, cut out a window of any size with a craft knife, and insert the first tube—now it’s complete.
If you punch holes in the bottoms of both boxes and thread a string through, it won’t come apart easily.
Decorate with stickers or drawings and have fun!