In my 11 years of crafting for the Cotsen Children’s Library, I must admit this is a first. Glowing string light underwear. But wait! We can explain!
We read Creepy Pair of Underwear!, written by Aaron Reynolds, and illustrated by Peter Brown (Simon & Schuster, 2017). Shopping for underwear doesn’t usually lead to terrifying episodes with creepy green glowing undies. But in the case of Jasper Rabbit, it does. No matter how Jasper tries to hide, vanquish, or destroy them, his creepy underwear return time and time again. Finally, he buries them in a deep pit and they are gone for good. Except…that creepy greenish glow was actually rather comforting in the dark. Perhaps Jasper can find a way to make peace with his creepy underwear? What can one do with underwear that glows in the dark?
You’ll need:
- 1 string of battery-operated LED string lights
- White card stock
- Scissors and tape for construction
- Markers for decorating
For starters, we recommend using battery-operated string lights as opposed to plug-in lights. This avoids complications with that wild, unpredictable thing otherwise known as electricity. We found our string lights for $3 in the Dollar Spot section of Target. They were sporting little lanterns (which we removed and used on another project).
To make your illuminated underpants, cut underpants shapes from white card stock, then decorate with markers. Tape the underpants to the string lights, and let them glow!
Psst! Did you spot the Creepy Carrot on the underpants? They stalked our story time too!
We’ll start with the ambulance! It’s basically a box on a pull string…but look at Katie’s awesome light on the roof! That’s a rectangle of cellophane wrapped around a snippet of red bubble tea straw. Wrap a piece of masking tape or white construction paper around the middle, and hot glue it to the roof. Add a construction paper windshield, wheels, and red crosses for the sides (or draw them on with markers).
Next, fold the 2 panels on either side of the truck’s headlights.
Finally, fold the hood down to meet the side panels, and secure it with tape.
Tape it to the front of the box (use markers to color it before you fold it, or after). Finish the ambulance by attaching a yarn pull string to the front. Up next is all your medical equipment, which gets conveniently stored in your ambulance box.
Most of the items in the kit are quick to assemble. The ice pack is 
The stethoscope is basically constructed out of of two, 15″ pieces of black 
Hot glue 2 
To make the syringe, you’re going to need a 2.75″ piece of bubble tea straw, a 4.25″ piece of 
Lots of bandaging…
And LOTS of shots…
At one point, six kids were crowding around me, administering shots. I was a very, very, healthy person by the end of story time.
As you can see, we had a paper bowl tunnel, a bumpy drinking straw “path,” green pipe cleaners acting as vine wickets, and a blue construction paper river. We used tagboard to make a bridge, as well as a ramp and an elevated pathway. At the bottom of the box lid are the “goals”…paper cup halves cut down to various heights. Want to fill things out a little? Add construction paper foliage:
You can also add fabric (or construction paper) flowers for some pops of color!
To play, drop a bouncy ball in anywhere, then navigate through the obstacles and foliage by tilting and turning your box top. The ball goes in a cup, you win! Bonus fun – use multiple balls at once, or play with one kid at each end of the box top!