Make a caterpillar craft with an empty egg carton
Edited by Godgirl77, Maureen D., Lynn, Adrian Penaflor and 4 others
Kids love to play with toys they create themselves. It often gives them more enjoyment knowing they created the toy themselves. Of course, they may be more upset if it breaks. This craft is a lot of fun to make and play with.
Contents
Instructions
- 1Next look at the row of holes in the carton where the eggs used to go. These holes are going to be the body of the caterpillar.Take your egg carton and cut off the top.
- 2Make sure you cut the carton into rows instead of columns. That way, you can make a longer body.Separate the carton into long single rows of caterpillar bodies.
- 3Cut between the egg holders all the way down the row until you have two (or three depending on the egg carton) individual rows of carton/caterpillar body.
- 4Flip the carton upside down so that the egg holders from boxes.
- 5You may also choose to use markers instead as a neater medium.Paint the body whatever colors you desire.
- 6The face should be on one of the narrow ends of the body.Decide which end of the caterpillar you want to be the head.
- Draw or paint two circles for eyes. If you are using googly eyes, wait until step #4 before making the eyes.
- Paint or draw the rest of your caterpillar's now. You may also want to draw or paint on a nose and mouth.
- For googly eyes. When the caterpillar is dry, you may dab some glue onto the googly eyes and place them on the narrow side of the first carton.
- If you want to make a nose with cotton balls (better if in color), then you can glue that on now as well.
- 7Feed the pipe cleaner through one hole and out the other. If the cardboard is stubborn, you might have to use scissors or something else sharp to poke the holes. You can leave them straight up, bend them at the top, or curl them. You can use construction paper instead if you like. For those using construction paper, cut out two long rectangular strips, bend the ends of the strips and glue them to the top of the caterpillar's head. Let it dry. Then take your scissors and run them along the construction paper creating tension in the same manner that one might curl a ribbon. You can also cut out two small circles and draw a smaller circle inside of the two circles for eyes. Glue these on the front of the face and let them dry.Take one long pipe cleaner and poke it through the top of the caterpillar's head for antennas.
- 8If desired you may now add any excess construction paper circles, cotton balls, glitter, or another decor to the body.
What Else Can I Do With an Empty Carton?
Egg Carton Fish
Another craft idea to make out of egg cartons (that you might think of tossing into the trash bins) is to make fish out of them. Gather the materials together before starting, to make this easier, faster and fun to make. Creating this craft together with your kids will be a good bonding time as well.
MATERIALS NEEDED
- 1Empty egg cartons (cardboard variety) clear of dirt and dust
- 2Pair of scissors
- 3Glue (if you opt to use a glue gun, do not let the children touch it)
- 4Water based paint of your color choice
- 5Craft foams of any bright colors
- 6Pipe cleaners
PROCEDURE
- 1Cut the egg cartons' cups individually.
- 2Take two of the cups and glue the open edges together to make a triangular shape.
- 3Take another cup and stick it to one end of the triangular shape you made earlier, it now forms a fish.
- 4Paint the fish any color you choose (use black paint for eyes and be creative when painting the body), using a lot of colors will make it more interesting.
- 5Cut foam shapes to make fish fins and attach them with glue on either side of the fish.
- 6Cut a pipe cleaner and poke it into the mouth of the fish.
Egg Carton Pirate Ships
This craft is fun and very easy to create. It involves only a few materials and you are good to go.
MATERIALS
- 1About three empty egg cartons
- 2Paintbrush and Craft acrylic paint (brown or you can choose your own color)
- 31/4 cup play dough, or modeling clay
- 4Toothpicks
- 5A sheet of bond paper
- 6Pair of scissors
- 7Glue
PROCEDURE
- 1Set them aside.Start painting the cups with either brown or your own choice of color, inside and out.
- 2Large and small ones according to your preference.Make sails out of the bond paper.
- 3For the large sails, use the toothpicks as is.Break the toothpicks in half and set them aside.
- 4Do the same procedure for the bigger sails, but use the uncut toothpick for them.Glue two pieces of bond paper for small sails with the toothpick right in the middle.
- 5Let them.
- 6Take the painted egg carton cups and line them in front of you.
- 7Roll a small portion of modeling clay or play dough ion your palm and flatten it on the cups
- 8Stick the large sail you made earlier in the middle of the clay, then do the same for the smaller sails (you can stick smaller sails on either side of the bigger one for a cool effect).
Bat Egg Cartons
This cool craft idea to make out of empty egg cartons can also be used as decoration for Halloween.
MATERIALS
- 1Egg cartons (empty and cleaned)
- 2A pair of scissors
- 3Craft glue
- 4Black acrylic paint
- 5Paintbrush
- 6Small white craft or bond paper
- 7Wiggly Eyes (optional)
- 8Thread or Ribbon (optional)
PROCEDURE
- 1Cut the egg cartons in three lines.
- 2Or you can cut it up with any shape you like, as it will become the bat's face.Cut a "You" inverted shape in front and at the back, and leave the middle cup uncut.
- 3Brush the bat shaped egg carton with black paint and let it dry.
- 4Stick the optional googly eyes in the middle part of the bat or cut eyes out of the white paper.
- 5Make a hole at the top part of the bat to tie it with thread or ribbon (if you want to hang it).
Tips Tricks & Warnings
- Kids participating in these crafts should use safety scissors.
- You may want to pre-cut the egg cartons for very young children.
- Warning: Any children under the age of two or three may try to eat the crafts, and therefore it may not be suitable. I suggest you only try it with ages three and up. Supervision for anyone six and below is recommended.
- Minimize the mess by placing newspaper underneath your craft while creating it.
- If caterpillar legs are uneven, you can cut them.
- Use leftover egg cartons for paint.
If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.
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Article Info
Categories : Kids Crafts
Recent edits by: Nuance, Jen M, Deepthi Gottumukkala
