Gotta Catch ‘Em All! Make Your Own Poké Ball

When Pokémon debuted in 1996 many people passed it off as a fad that would soon fade. Eighteen years later, the brand proves itself to be as beloved today as it was all those years ago. Between the T.V. series, card games, movies, video games, books and other products created over the years, Pokémon earned itself a spot in the popular franchise realm. With so many outlets of media, the future of the franchise looks unyielding.

We see an endless number of people in the community geek out over Pokémon regularly. With so many fun forms of entertainment the franchise has produced, that’s to be expected. Inspired by your love of Pokémon, we found a fun craft to make at home — your very own Poké ball! Who says you need to train hard to collect ’em all? All you need is a few basic supplies and a crafty attitude to be on your way as a Pokémon Master.

Materials:
-Black, Red and White Construction Paper
-Two Paper Plates
-Scissors
-Glue
-Paper Brads
-Pencil
-Crayons
-A Compass (the kind you use for geometry). If you don’t have a compass, you can use any circular object to trace. We used two different sized tape rolls.
-Image or Coloring Page Picture of Your Favorite Pokémon. You can find many printable Pokémon coloring pages online for free. If you are extra creative, draw your own Pokémon!

Step 1
Find an image of your favorite Pokémon. Print it, color it and cut it out. Make sure he is small enough to fit inside the radius of a paper plate. Once the image is ready, set it aside.

Step 2
Trace one of your paper plates on the red construction paper. Cut along the trace line to make a red circle.

Step 3
Fold your red circle in half and cut along the crease line to make a half circle.

Step 4
Place the red half circle on your black construction paper and trace it. Cut along the trace lines on the black paper. You now have a red half circle and a black half circle.

Step 5
Measure about an inch from the bottom of your black half circle. Cut a straight line so that you have a strip of black the same length as the bottom of your red half circle.

Step 6
Cut a circle about 3 inches in diameter from your remaining black construction paper. Then cut another black circle about one inch in diameter. Cut another circle about two inches in diameter from the white construction paper. If you have a hard time making circles, you can use a compass or trace a round item. We traced our circles from two different size rolls of tape.

Step 7
Fold one of your paper plates in half and cut along the fold.

Step 8
It is time to start constructing your Poké ball! Glue your red half circle on top of one the paper plate halves. It is okay to flatten out the paper plate as you glue.

Step 9
Glue your strip of black construction paper along the bottom of the red paper. Take the largest of the three circles you cut out and glue the top half to the bottom of the circle. Make sure to only glue half the circle onto the paper so that you can open your Poké ball once you’re finished.

Step 10
Glue the white circle to the center of the large black circle. Glue the smallest black circle to the center of your white circle.

The top of your Poké ball is complete! You are almost finished; you just need to construct the rest of the ball.

Step 11
Lay the top and bottom halves of the paper plate over the paper plate that you haven’t used yet. Fasten all three pieces together with a paper brad so that your Poké ball opens from one side.

Note: If you have trouble getting your brad through the paper, use your scissors to make a tiny hole in the paper before you push the brad through.

Step 12
The last step is to glue the Pokémon you previously colored and cut out to the inside of your Poké ball.

You’re finished! Now you can create as many Pokémon as you desire!

If you love Pokemon, don’t miss the Pokémon Meetup at Bookmans Grant or the Pokémon Pileup at Bookmans Speedway.