Cardboard Tube Stamping and Memory Game

Cardboard tubes are one of the most versatile free craft materials for kids. One of their less-common uses is for stamping. A cardboard tube fits nicely in a young child's hand and is much easier to control than small rubber stamps that require better fine motor skills. Obviously, you can use cardboard tubes to stamp circles. But there are so many more shapes you can make by folding, pinching, and snipping the tubes.  Check it out:

I made the heart, leaf, diamond (kite), oval (football), and pumpkin just by pinching and bending the tubes into the shapes I wanted. For the sun and the flower, I cut slits in the top of the tubes, folded out the cut portions to make tabs, then cut those tabs into the pointy rays of the sun and the rounded petals of the flowers. 

Once the tubes were ready, I spread some craft paint on my Frisbee and stamped the shapes onto thick index cards. I made two of each shape. Then I colored them in with pens. 

Now the cards are ready for a game of Memory! Shuffle the cards, lay them out in a grid, and take turns turning over two at a time. If you get a match, you get another turn. 

There are so many more things you can do with your cardboard tube stamps. Use them to decorate cards, wrapping paper, or tablecloths, just to name a few. Challenge yourself to come up with other shapes you can make with cardboard tubes. There are so many possibilities!