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!
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It’s fun to spin! A collection of handmade toy ideas (31–40)
Easy and fun! Two spinning tops using marbles
In the Reiwa era, digital music and subscriptions are the norm.
For the moms and dads who spent their youth with MDs and CDs, and the uncles who made mixtapes on cassettes, there are lots of memories tied to music devices.
Sometimes an old cassette tape suddenly turns up and you realize, “I don’t have anything to play this on!” And of course, some people say, “I don’t really listen to CDs anymore either.” For people like that, here’s a fun recommendation: a spinning top made from a CD and a marble.
Just glue or double-tape a marble to the center hole of a CD and you’re done.
When it spins, the CD’s shimmering surface looks surprisingly cool.
Even if you’re not good at crafts, give it a try!
Cardboard hand-cranked spinning top
Back in the days when there were no video games or smartphones, kids played by hitting baseballs or kicking balls around.
Then you wonder—what did they do before baseballs and balls existed? They hopped on one foot, played tag, and in the end, they knew how to have fun within whatever environment they were given.
Feeling a bit nostalgic, why not make and play with a spinning top out of cardboard? It’s simple: just cut a circle from cardboard and insert a Frankfurt sausage stick or a pair of chopsticks.
Have fun painting it however you like! In an age when we have everything, a simple cardboard top might even feel refreshingly new.
Fun to spin! Cardboard top
What do you like about spinning tops? One thing I find charming about them is how their impression changes when they’re still versus when they’re spinning.
When a top painted red and blue starts to spin, it even looks slightly purple—doesn’t that seem lovely? So, how about making a cardboard top and giving it a beautiful paint job for fun? You can simply cut the cardboard into a circle to make a top, but there’s also a special appeal to making one by cutting the cardboard into long, slender strips, tidying them up, and layering them in concentric circles.
Decorate it with colored paper or chiyogami so vibrantly that you can’t even see the original cardboard!
A playable spinning top made from a paper cup
How about making your own traditional New Year’s spinning top this year and playing with it? You can easily make one with a paper cup, a straw, and a plastic bottle cap, so give it a try.
Leave about 5 millimeters of the bottom of the paper cup and cut around it with scissors.
If a child is making it, please have a guardian watch to prevent any cuts.
Once you’ve made slits all the way around, spread them out and draw your favorite patterns.
Make a hole in the bottom of the paper cup, insert a straw cut to about 6 centimeters, and secure it to the cap—that’s it! Spend a fun New Year with a one-of-a-kind spinning top!
Just paper plates and a bottle cap! A spinning top that even 1-year-olds can make
Koma (spinning tops) are perfect both for New Year’s games and for everyday play.
This top is easy to make: paste small torn pieces of origami paper onto the surface of a paper plate, then glue a plastic bottle cap to the center.
A tip is not to use the paper plate as is, but to fold it in half twice to make creases beforehand.
Doing this creates a central shaft-like area, making it spin more easily.
Hold the cap and try spinning it on a hard floor.
For a more festive look, use not only solid-color origami but also traditional Japanese patterned paper.
A spinning top made from the bottom of a milk carton
There used to be a word, “milk bottle,” and for a long time milk normally came in bottles.
Back in the day, the milk served with school lunches was in small bottles, too.
Maybe people shied away from them because bottles are heavy and dangerous when they break? It feels like milk cartons took their place in no time.
But those milk cartons are paper and yet surprisingly sturdy, aren’t they? So how about making a spinning top using a milk carton? Just cut out circles or squares with scissors and stick a toothpick through—it’s almost done.
You can even use a plastic bottle cap as a handle.
And don’t forget to add your own special decorations!
Marble coaster with a spiral coil
Let’s make a slightly unusual spiral-type marble run using wire! First, wrap the wire around a rod whose diameter is close to that of the marble.
As you wrap, check to make sure the marble can fall properly through the coiled wire and that the loops aren’t so large that the marble drops straight down in an instant.
Next, create a path out of cardboard that leads the marble to the spiral wire, and combine it with the wire to complete the course! It’s also fun to connect it with other tracks.
Infinite Marble Run
Here’s a perfect boredom-buster for kids: a marble run that rolls endlessly.
You’ll need two stiff, deep paper plates and two paper cups.
First, cut a hole in the center of each plate to make a donut shape.
Next, make a single slit on each plate, then interlock the two plates so they form a figure eight.
When assembling, a hot glue gun is recommended over glue or paste.
Finally, insert the paper cups into the holes you cut in the plates, and you’re done! The marble will whirl around the figure-eight track so kids can enjoy it for ages.
To make it more challenging, try playing with the paper cups removed.
Maze ideas
@tomonite_official A handmade maze using a wrap core! This looks fun for both kids and adults♪ Try making it together with your child 😊 Please use this idea with adult supervision and with safety in mind. Featured from Instagram: a post by @mimita_asobi ✨ Thank you for the wonderful post. ↓↓↓ ───────────────── 【Not trash: A Spinny Maze with a Wrap Core】 Today’s post is a “spinny maze”! The child was super focused! But then they said, “Make a harder one next time,” 🫣 I guess it was a bit too easy for a five-year-old! You can make lots of different versions☺️ The child was able to make it themselves too, so everyone, try making it with your kiddo 👍🏻 ̖́- ▷Materials for today 〇 Wrap core (cardboard tube from plastic wrap) 〇 Paper (construction paper or copy paper is fine) 〇 Wrapping film 〇 Double-sided tape 〇 Stickers (or draw directly on the film) 〇 Pens/markers for drawing ───────────────── This is Tomonite @tomonite_official. Even on busy days, we want family time to be full of smiles! We share: 🏠 Time-saving housework and parenting hacks 💎 Convenient items with great time and cost performance 👶 Relatable parenting moments and heartwarming videos ✨ A favor ✨ Likes and comments really encourage us! If you found this post helpful or enjoyed it, we’d be happy if you leave a 👶 in the comments! All posts introduced by Tomonite are shared with permission from the original creators. Comments that may hurt others may be hidden by our team. We’d love for everyone to enjoy comfortable conversations and to connect a lot here ✨#AtHomePlayworkSimple craftMaze
♬ Bling-Bang-Bang-Born – Creepy Nuts
You can make a fun maze with a cardboard wrap core! Here’s a simple way to do it.
First, cut construction paper to the length of the wrap core, and draw a maze on it using any writing tools you like.
Attach double-sided tape to the paper with the maze and wrap it around the core.
Next, cut a piece of wrapping film to about 5 cm and stick your favorite stickers on it—that’s it! Thread it through the wrap core to play the maze game.
If you make the construction paper removable, you can enjoy original mazes over and over again.
It’s also recommended to use stickers of your favorite characters to enjoy a themed world.
Maze ideas
@tomonite_official A handmade maze using a wrap core! This looks fun for both kids and adults♪ Try making it together with your child 😊 Please use this idea with adult supervision and with safety in mind. Featured from Instagram: a post by @mimita_asobi ✨ Thank you for the wonderful post. ↓↓↓ ───────────────── 【Not trash: A Spinny Maze with a Wrap Core】 Today’s post is a “spinny maze”! The child was super focused! But then they said, “Make a harder one next time,” 🫣 I guess it was a bit too easy for a five-year-old! You can make lots of different versions☺️ The child was able to make it themselves too, so everyone, try making it with your kiddo 👍🏻 ̖́- ▷Materials for today 〇 Wrap core (cardboard tube from plastic wrap) 〇 Paper (construction paper or copy paper is fine) 〇 Wrapping film 〇 Double-sided tape 〇 Stickers (or draw directly on the film) 〇 Pens/markers for drawing ───────────────── This is Tomonite @tomonite_official. Even on busy days, we want family time to be full of smiles! We share: 🏠 Time-saving housework and parenting hacks 💎 Convenient items with great time and cost performance 👶 Relatable parenting moments and heartwarming videos ✨ A favor ✨ Likes and comments really encourage us! If you found this post helpful or enjoyed it, we’d be happy if you leave a 👶 in the comments! All posts introduced by Tomonite are shared with permission from the original creators. Comments that may hurt others may be hidden by our team. We’d love for everyone to enjoy comfortable conversations and to connect a lot here ✨#AtHomePlayworkSimple craftMaze
♬ Bling-Bang-Bang-Born – Creepy Nuts
You can make a fun maze with a cardboard wrap core! Here’s a simple way to do it.
First, cut construction paper to the length of the wrap core, and draw a maze on it using any writing tools you like.
Attach double-sided tape to the paper with the maze and wrap it around the core.
Next, cut a piece of wrapping film to about 5 cm and stick your favorite stickers on it—that’s it! Thread it through the wrap core to play the maze game.
If you make the construction paper removable, you can enjoy original mazes over and over again.
It’s also recommended to use stickers of your favorite characters to enjoy a themed world.