Cave Quest VBS Frugal Crafts: Spelunker Helmet

Welcome back to another of my Frugal Cave Quest VBS Craft Ideas! Make sure to check out the other ideas. All great spelunkers need their caving gear! This cute helmet is super easy and VERY cheap to make {pennies per child}.

Supplies:
Blank helmets
Black construction paper
Aluminum foil
Round jar lids
Scissors
Glue and/or double stick tape
Permanent markers
Foam stickers, regular stickers, feathers, sequins, other crafty items for embellishments {optional}

Our mascot-dog is super excited to be wearing a spelunker helmet!

Okay, so the beauty of this craft lies in the fact that I found these helmets for $.60 per dozen {yes, you read that right}! US Toy also has free shipping on every order {although there is a $5 surcharge if you spend less than $25 on your order}. These aren’t heavy plastic, but are super fun! They’re definitely strong enough to last through VBS and should fit most kids heads.

UPDATE: US Toy sold out of the hats that are crazy cheap {boo}, but there is a comparable hat available for about $.35 per kid here…. still a totally affordable craft idea!

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Write the bible verse on helmets {I would do this ahead of time}
You’ll definitely want to have the bible verse written on the helmet ahead of time for your younger kiddos. The older ones could do it themselves, or you could keep it simple and write the verse on all the helmets ahead of time.

2. Trace & cut out circles
I grabbed a few different jar lids from my kitchen to try sizes for the “headlamp”. I ended up using a spaghetti sauce jar lid and a small butter bowl lid for my circles. You can use whatever you have on hand. I would trace all the circles ahead of time, especially for younger kids. My example has red paper for the headlamp backer, but I would definitely use black. I just didn’t have any black at home.

3. Make your headlamp
Use liquid glue {a glue stick would probably tear the foil} or double stick tape to attach your aluminum foil circle to your black circle. I used glue, but either would work fine.

4. Attach the headlamp to your spelunker helmet
When you pass out the helmets, I’d write everyone’s names on the bottom side before doing anything else. Sharing is caring, but not when it comes to head lice. After your headlamp is assembled and your helmets are labeled, attach the headlamp to the helmet with double stick tape. {I don’t know that glue would work on this step. Double stick tape was quick and worked perfectly.}

5. Write the bible verse on the back of the helmet
If you didn’t write the bible verse or saying on the helmets before VBS, now is the time to add the verse! You could make these on Wednesday {“Jesus gives us direction” or “He will show you which path to take. –Proverbs 3:6”} or you could use the phrase “Jesus lights up my world”/“Jesus is the light of my world” any night of the week!

6. Decorate your helmet {optional}
This is where kids can really have fun! Let their imaginations run wild to see what kind of fun spelunker helmets you come up with. Foam stickers and permanent markers would both work really well on the surface of these helmets. Think about your feathers and sequins if you really want to get exciting!

Estimated cost per child: 5 cents per helmet {woop woop!} plus the cost of paper and aluminum foil. Yay for crafts that cost pennies like the spelunker helmet!

Can you tell I was the crafts leader last year? I was definitely gifted with a crafty/artistic side {aka I enjoy hoarding things that could be used for some project sometime}. Check out the whole list of Frugal Cave Quest Craft Ideas here! For more ideas, make sure to follow my VBS boards: Cave Quest, Cave Inspiration, VBS Craft Ideas and Director Goodies.

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