Easy Handmade Rubber Band Shooters

We have a lot of boys in our family. I think that it is a little harder to find fun activities for boys than it is for girls....but this is just my opinion as a mom of boys. We don't have guns in our house. So when Rebecca suggested we make these, I was a little hesitant. But I did just make a whole bunch of whips for my Son's Birthday party this summer...so why not this too?!

These are easy to do with your kids with a little supervision needed. My boys loved helping make these and can't wait to play with them this weekend at our little carnival.

You will need:

-12 inch dowels

-wood clothes pins

-spray paint

-glue (we used E-6000)

-Rubber bands

-Hack saw (fine tooth hand saw)

We spray painted the dowels in blue and the clothespins in red.

Carefully drag one end of the dowel along the saw. You just want a little groove for the rubber band to sit in. We found it was easier to move the dowel and not the saw.

If you are a real crafter, you will have E-6000 glue at your ready. If you don't have this glue, you are not a true crafter (or you don't want to kill yourself with the toxic fumes that come forth from it.) I'm fine with some toxic fumes for the craft cause;) Glue your clothespin about an inch from the end of your dowel and the opposite end of your groove with the clipping part of the clothespin pointing towards the groove end. Let the glue set.

String your rubber band in the groove, pull it tight and clip it into place in the clothespin. When you are ready, shoot and aim!! You release the rubber band by pressing on the end of the clothespin (releasing the rubber band).

A rule in our house is always no aiming above the waist. It doesn't matter what we are playing with, it can never be aimed above the waist.

Anjeanette

In our house the rule is "you don't shoot people or the pets". We provide them with other targets such as empty plastic bottles or have them draw their own targets on paper. Then we tape the targets to the wall.

These are so simple and quick to make. On a rainy day, assuming you have clothes pins and a stick and the E6000 glue, you could make a couple of these with your kids. While the glue is drying, you can raid your recycle bin and have the kids make their own targets.

Katrina