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Recycled Monsters

  • All Ages

Create cute little monsters using recycled materials found around the home, such as cardboard tubes, cups and bottle caps! Once complete, use them to reenact make up stories or pair them with a book during creative play!

Materials


  • 25 Pack Assorted Paint Brushes
  • Acrylic Paint Jars, 24 Assorted colors
  • Mini Wood Clothespins, 50 pieces
  • Bottle Caps - assorted sizes and colors
  • Cardboard Tube
  • Plastic or Paper Cup
  • Construction Paper
  • Clear Tape
  • White Foam Sheet
  • Scissors
  • Craft Glue

Instructions


Step 1. Gather your supplies.

 

 

Step 2.

 

For the first monster, wrap a fuzzy stick around a bottle cap. Repeat on the other end and use glue to secure them in the shape so they don’t slip out.

 

Step 3.

 

To create your monster’s body, glue the middle of the Fuzzy Stick between 2 large neon green Poms.

 

Step 4.

 

Make feet for your monster by gluing the body on 2 bottle caps, as shown.

 

Step 5.

 

Glue two yellow Wiggly Eyes to the bottle caps. Cut some teeth out of white foam and glue to the inside of a bottle cap for a mouth.  Glue the bottle cap to your monster to create a silly grin!

 

Step 6.

 

For the second monster, cut a piece of construction paper in half lengthwise.  Fold the paper in half lengthwise again and tape the edges together. Cut slits in the folded edge of the paper ½” apart. Repeat with the second piece of the construction paper to make two long strips with slits.

 

Step 7.

 

Turn your plastic up upside down and begin wrapping the paper strips around the cut. Tip: Layer the bottom one first so that the folded edges line up with the lip of the cup and the top layer second lining up with the flat bottom of the cup, as shown.

 

Step 8.

 

Glue blue Poms to the top of the cup.

 

Step 9.

 

Use a piece of the leftover paper from step 10 to create a head piece for the monster. Glue to the top of the cup.

 

Step 10.

 

To make arms for the monster, thread a neon blue Fuzzy Stick through half of the paper loops in the top layer of the monster’s body, as shown.

 

Step 11.

 

Cut another neon blue Fuzzy Stick into smaller pieces and twist around the arms to make claws.

 

Step 12.

 

To finish the monster, glue Wiggly Eyes inside two bottle caps and add them as eyes. Cut teeth out of white foam and glue into a third bottle cap for the mouth.

 

Step 13.

 

For the first monster, paint a cardboard tube orange and allow to dry. Tip: we trimmed out tube slightly before painting.

 

Step 14.

 

Press the top edges of the tube together to close it, as shown.

 

Step 15.

 

Cut slits in the bottom of the tube, about 1” apart and 3” long.

 

Step 16.

 

Roll the cut ends of the tube out. You can roll the ends around the handle of a paint brush or pencil, so that they keep their shape.

 

Step 17.

 

Glue a large bottle cap to the tube for the eye, and a bottle cap on each side for the ears. Glue a large Wiggly Eye in middle of the large bottle cap.

 

Step 18.

 

Attach 2 Mini Clothespins to the top of the monster, to make horns. To make the arms, wrap a neon orange Fuzzy Stick around the body, and twist to secure. Repeat with a second Fuzzy Stick.

Step 19.

 

Wrap the ends of each Fuzzy Stick around a bottle cap, twist to secure and you are all finished with your recycled monsters!