Hey, Hey, it's the (egg box) Monkeys!

They've been a long time coming these monkeys, so really hope they're worth the wait...

The body's made from the same egg box bit as the penguins (the cone that stops the eggs bashing together),

you'll also need paint, glue and brown pipe-cleaners.

Once you've cut out the bodies (top 3cm), get painting, and don't forget to paint a piece of egg lid card brown too, plus a lighter colour for the face.

About a cm from the top, make holes for arms with nail scissors - keep closed, press down and twist from side to side) and do the same at the bottom for the legs.

Make a hole in the top (if there isn't one there already) and cut a slot about a cm long at the back for the tail.
Cut 3 pieces of pipe cleaner - two 9cm long, and one 12cm. Push the longer piece up through the hole until there's enough to bend into a loop (where you'll stick the head) - then pull the rest of the pipe cleaner up through the tail slot.

Push the other 2 pieces through for the arms, and the legs - when you're happy, fold the sharp tips over.

For the head, find a suitably sized circle (we used a thread reel) and draw round it twice on some cereal box card.

Now, using one as an outline, draw two small chimp ears near the top, touching the circle, and continue down to the bottom. See picture.

In the other circle, draw two 3's facing each other (see picture again). Use the bottom of the circle to form your 3's, and make the lower half fatter and shorter than the top bit.

Cut these pieces out, and you're looking for them to sit together like this...

...with a little of the lower part visible on either side. A bit fiddly, but once it's done and you're happy, use these pieces as templates for all your other monkeys.

Add any expression you like, and glue the head onto the pipe-cleaner hoop. Best to use a stronger all-purpose glue as PVA craft glue doesn't work so well with pipe cleaners.

We made a small playground for our monkeys too - you just need the top of an egg box + one egg cup, a suitable twig, paint, glue and some coloured paper. and a ball of plasticine (modelling clay)

First, paint the egg box lid green, (or you might already have a green one) and the egg cup piece grey.

Once they're dry, cut a strip of green paper (or paper you've painted) so it wraps around the cup, leaving a space at the front. Fold the bottom cm along the strip.
Fringe the paper up to the fold - my daughter loves doing this - then chop bits out and make it different lengths so it looks more grass like.

Snip a few times into the cm fold - this helps when it come to sticking it neatly under the egg cup.
Brush glue around the side of the stone - with the fold sitting along the bottom edge, press the grass on and stick the rest underneath.

Glue to the egg box lid. We added a few paper leaves to our tree. Make a hole for the tree and push the end into some plasticine to help keep it steady.
If you have any coloured tissue paper, scrupple little bits up to make flowers.

And once you've enough chimps, you could always try something else....We had a go at a baboon..

with cheeky extras..

Next time pandas.

Many more projects like this in my craft books, 'Make Your Own Zoo' and 'Make Your Own Farm Animals'

Turtles and Tortoises

Now, I had promised monkeys, but then my youngest came up with these, all by herself, and I thought they'd be perfect for our homemade zoo.

All you need is an egg box scissors, paint, a black felt tip pen and some glue.

First, cut out a few egg box cups, then push up and round the bottoms (push in and round the corners if yours are a bit square like these ones) - so they end up looking more dome shaped.

Painting time next, and don't forget to splosh some on both sides of the egg box lid, or any other spare piece of cardboard (for legs and heads)

When dry, use a felt tip to draw a pattern on the shell, and after perusing pictures online, we added some yellow and brown spots too.

All the other bits can be cut out of the painted lid - just a thin strip snipped into four for the tortoise's legs and a rounded head with a long neck.

Use nail scissors to make a slot for the neck on one side (adult supervision). Keep the scissors closed, press down and twist gently from side to side. A ball of plasticine behind the card makes this easier.  Widen the slot so your tortoise can retreat into its shell if things get too much...

For the turtle, make the legs more flipper or paddle like (draw and cut out one front and one back leg, then use these to draw the others)
Remember to make them extra long for sticking under the egg cup.

Glue the legs underneath, in the corners, and leave to dry upside down before bending into place.

We thought the penguin's pool might be a little on the chilly side for the turtles, so made them a more tropical one!

Monkeys next. Honest.

Easy Elephant

...the latest arrival at our homemade zoo... and very similar to the giraffe and the zebra I made with my daughter last time.

You'll need two toilet paper tubes, cereal box card, an egg box, black and white paint, a black felt tip and some tacky glue. (Make tacky glue by leaving about a cm of PVA/craft glue in a clean yogurt pot or jar with no lid for at least a day. The longer you leave it the tackier it gets)

First, start with the head so you know it fits into the body. Cut a whole egg cup from the end of the box. The end is best as there's more card here. Draw a line around the cup that curves up at this side. With the longer side on top, push the cup into one end of a toilet paper tube and tilt it forward.

If the head piece doesn't fit, try a different sized tube (a kitchen paper roll might work), or, if it's too big, keep cutting carefully around the edge of the egg cup, following the curved shape until it fits snuggly into place. Take the head out and put aside while you make the legs.

As before, cut the other toilet paper tube in half lengthways, and cut one of these pieces in half again. These two strips should be about 4cm wide. Fold them in half lengthways. (Hold onto the leftover card if you're making a rhino or hippo)

Cut a cm or so off the tube body, so it's about 8cm long. Then mark slots for the legs. Hold a ruler along the length of the tube and draw two, 3cm lines about a cm in from each tube end. Move the ruler on about 3cm and repeat, so the slots line up with each other.

With a pair of straight nail scissors or embroidery scissors make a hole on a line (keep them closed, press down and twist from side to side until they pierce through the card). Then cut along the slot - do the same with the other three.

Wiggle the scissors or the end of a spoon in and out of the holes, so it's easier to thread the legs through. When you're happy each side is level, bend the legs inwards, so it stands up. Shorten the legs and trim so it doesn't wobble.

Ok, so now I'm going to sound like a bit of a loo roll craft anorak, but I've a LOT of cardboard middles, and they're all kinds of sizes - the smaller/narrower ones work best for this - you want a cut-out egg cup piece to fit snuggly into the end of the tube.

Put some glue around an inside edge, push the egg box bit in, and angle it down slightly.

Next, get painting - make sure you also paint a piece of cereal box card for the ears, trunk and tail.

When dry, draw a trunk on the painted card - for guidance, the top of the trunk should be almost the width of the end of the egg cup head, and remember to add a cm or so for a tab. (see photo). Draw a large flappy ear, cut it out and use as a template to draw around for the other one.

Put the head back into the body and mark a slot down the centre for the trunk. Take it out again and pierce a hole with the small scissors (keep closed, press down and twist from side to side) Cut along the slot and wiggle the scissors in and out so it's easier to push the trunk through.
Bend the ears slightly so they're curved like the tube body, before sticking in place with tacky glue. Add a small tail at the back (glue inside the tube and bend when dry). Draw on eyes with a black felt tip pen.

Linking With Red Ted Art's Kids Get Crafty