Craft Project: Story Dice

Spark your children’s creativity and make storytelling fun with Story Dice from Show Me a Story by Emily K. Neuburger.

Photograph © Buff Strickland

Story Dice

Throw the dice, and let chance play a role in your storytelling. Use these dice alone or with a group to develop a story.

Time 
To make: 1 hour

Ages
To make: 5+
To  use: 3+

Players: 1+

Materials 

• Paper and pencils
• Tiny stamps 
• Black ink 
• Small (approximately ¾") wooden cubes*  
• Fine-tip ballpoint pen 
• Colored pencils 

Possible Categories and Images

• Characters (person, monster, fish, bee) 
• Things (telephone, candle, book, bucket) 
• Weather descriptions (clouds, raindrops, snowflake, wind) 
• Places (ocean, woods, house, school) 
• Numbers (100, 3, 10, 2) 
• Food (cupcake, Swiss cheese, pizza, eggs) 
• Feelings (depicted with a mouth or face) 
• Tools (wrench, hammer, rope, ruler) 
• Animals (moth, rabbit, mole, lion) 
• Magical items (pebbles, wand, dust, web) 
• Clothing (T-shirt, boots, overalls, gloves) 
• Natural objects (tree, bird’s nest, mushroom, mountain) 

The two dice on the left are stamped. The three dice on the right are illustrated. Photograph © Greg Nesbit Photography

How to Make
Make a list of possible characters, things, and places you would like on the dice. Narrow down the list, and select the exact images you want printed. You can make each die display only one category: characters, places, things, magical items, weather descriptions, for example. Or you can make varied dice that have characters, things, and places on a single die. The benefit of making category dice, though, is that you can roll two and know for sure that you’ll get one character and one thing. If you roll varied dice, you could end up with two places or two weather descriptions.

Stamped Dice 
Dip the stamp into the ink, and use the tips of your fingers to press it firmly and evenly onto each die.

Illustrated Dice 
Draw the outline of each image with a fine-tip ballpoint pen. (Avoid using art markers because they tend to bleed a bit too much.) Fill in with colored pencils.

Illustrated dice Photograph © Greg Nesbit Photography

How to Use 

1. If you are playing by yourself, simply roll the dice, and use the combination to begin your story. When you find yourself running out of ideas, roll the dice again for a new combination. If you are playing as a group, take turns rolling the dice and incorporating your combination into the larger story. 
2. Keep in mind that six dice can present 36 different images and 46,656 unique combinations. Yowza! The more dice you add to your collection, the more possible combinations, which, in turn, lead to seemingly endless storytelling options. 

Other Neat Ideas 

• Break out the Story Dice when you’re entertaining, and use them as an after-dinner game. 
• Package them in pairs with a small notebook, and give them as a party favor or as a gift. 
• Bring along a few pairs in the car for long road trips. Take turns rolling them on top of a book, and use the various combinations to tell stories. 

Teaching Tip 
Have all the students in your class make a set for their creative writing assignments. To add a bit of fun and variety, have students trade their Story Dice or one Story Die with their neighbors. You just might start a school trend!

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More Craft Projects All Month!
March is National Craft Month. To celebrate, we’ll be posting a new craft project each Tuesday and Thursday throughout the month. Join the fun! Like us on Facebook, follow the InsideStorey blog, or check in to InsideStorey on the dates below to get the projects as they go live.

Tuesday, March 5: Keep your crafting ideas organized on this great Memo Board from Sew Up a Home Makeover by Lexie Barnes.

Thursday, March 7: Have some fun with the kids by creating candy race cars — make a candy track, and take your car for a sweet ride! The Formula One Car is from Candy Construction by Sharon Bowers.

Tuesday, March 12: Two projects in one — Motif and Connection #62 from Connect the Shapes Crochet Motifs by Edie Eckman. Learn the motif, then make a bunch, and connect them to create a bigger project.

Thursday, March 14: Cutting and Using Stamps from Fabric Surface Design by Cheryl Rezendes.

Tuesday, March 19: Spark your children’s creativity and make storytelling fun with Story Dice from Show Me a Story by Emily K. Neuburger.

Thursday March 21: Mudroom Organizer (Designed by Sascha Ayad) — Make spring cleaning simpler with this easy-to-make shelf from PlyDesign by Philip Schmidt.

Tuesday, March 26: Get ready for your spring gardening with the Green Thumb Half-Apron from Sew & Stow by Betty Oppenheimer.

Thursday, March 28: Enjoy a springtime picnic with these Picnic-tastic Lunch Mats that hold a napkin and utensils from One-Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins.

The projects will be posted on the InsideStorey blog on the dates indicated above.