Scamp! - the paper roll dog

We called him Scamp because he sort of looks like he’s scampering.. think he’d be one of those dogs that never sat still! Scamp is made from cutting and folding a single toilet paper roll. Just one dab of glue at the end to stick the sides of his head together.

A narrower toilet paper tube is best - the one we used was quite narrow and about 10cm long.

It's probably easier to paint the tube first, though fine to do it after the making too. Make sure you paint inside each end of the tube before leaving to dry.

1. Press the tube flat, but concentrate only on one of the creases, pressing along it firmly with your fingers. Leave the other as a light crease.

2. Line up the two creases you've just made and press the tube flat again, and again, concentrate on pressing firmly along one of the creases, leaving the other. You should end up with tube with a flat bottom, like this.

3. On the flat side, measure and mark about 2cm in from each end. Then from each mark, roughly draw around the tube until you get back to the mark. Don’t worry if the line is a bit wobbly, it’s only a guide for cutting.

4.  At one end on the flat side, cut along the creases to the pencil line - these will be Scamp’s back legs. Halfway between these cuts, snip out a long, thin triangle, up to the line.

Repeat at the other end for the front legs, but this time snip a little bit over the pencil line, so the front legs are slightly longer.

5. At this front end, on the top of the tube, cut along the light creases to the pencil line. Fold the middle flap back and cut a ‘V’ from each corner to the middle of the line, for Scamp’s ears.

6. At the other end of the top part of the tube, inbetween the light creases, make two cuts up to the pencil line, quite close together, for the tail. (You could use the position of the ears to help position the tail). Cut away two long thin triangles either side of the tail (see below). 

7. Press the two flaps either side of the tail into the body.

8. At the head end, glue the end of the two flaps together and use a paper clip or clothes peg to hold it in place.

9. Once dry, trim if you need to, then use a black pen to draw his nose on the top corner and draw on eyes. Keep them high up, near the ears. 

10, Bend the legs down and shorten if you want to, and he's ready for a scamp!

  

Walkies!!

Curly wurly snakes!

Wrap them wherever you like!

These spirally snakes are sssssssimple to make and they're really good for scissor practice too.

You'll need:
2 toilet paper tubes (or a kitchen paper tube cut in half)
Paint
Paper
Craft glue
Glue stick
Plain paper
Yellow felt-tip or highlighter

1.  Paint stripes up one tube using any colours you like. It looks good if you keep to a set pattern, so if you paint yellow, green then blue do the same around the rest of the tube. Try to keep the stripes a similar size.
On the second tube, paint the same colour pattern around the tube, leaving a space near one end. Make the stripes a little thinner this time. Paint the bit you've left black, or whatever colour you'd like for your snakes tongue! Paint the inside of this end black too.

2. When the paint's dry, carefully cut the tube to make a spiral. Take your time and make small snips with the tips of the scissors. Don't make the angle too steep at the beginning - just a gentle rise. When you've been round once, the important thing is to keep the width of the spiral (your snake's body) the same all the way up. Keep checking to see if it looks right. This can be tricky and needs concentration but it's great scissor practice. If it helps, you could try drawing a spiral on first with a pencil, or, for younger makers, start it off for them, as this is really the trickiest part. Let them have a go at cutting the rest of the spiral. It doesn't matter if it's a bit wiggly!

3. Snip the end off so you have a nice straight bit to stick the head to.

4. Use a pencil to draw a diamond shaped head on your other tube ( make sure it's not too small)

5. Use sticky tape to attach it to the twisty body.

6. Cut out an eye shape from the spare tube. We tried two different shapes. Draw around it twice on some plain paper and colour in with a yellow felt-tip pen or a highlighter. Add a black pen line down the middle. Cut them out and use a glue stick to glue them to the head.

7. Cut a thin strip from the black end of the tube for your snake's tongue. Straighten off both ends and cut a 'V' in one of them.

8. Use sticky tape or glue to stick the tongue to the back of the head. Add two black nostrils and any other detail you like. Now your snake is ready to explore!

Egg carton penguins

Apparently there are a few homemade Zoos on the go now, which is just brilliant! Though it does mean the pressure's on to come up with some new ideas.  Luckily I've been saving the penguins - and do you know, they're probably my favourites so far. SO quick and easy.

You will need:
Egg carton

Scissors
Small piece of cereal box card
PVA/craft glue
Paint (black, white, yellow)
Fine black felt-tip or gel pen
Nail scissors (straight-edged or similar *to be used by an adult)
For their iceberg home:

Egg cartons

Ice-cream carton lid or similar

The penguins are made from the long pointy cone bits in the box that protect the eggs. Some cartons don't have them but plenty do. How easy is that?

*If your cones have holes in the top, dab some glue inside the top of the cone and then push a small piece of newspaper up, to block the hole.*

First, roughly cut out as much of the middle cones as you can - this makes them easier to work with. Then, with a pencil, mark points on the 4 corners, just above the bumpy cardboard joins. Then join the points with a pencil line, all the way around the cone (just a guide so don't worry if it's a bit wobbly). Carefully cut up to the pencil line (at an angle is easiest) and then along the line. Take time doing this so the edge is nice and even and your penguin body sits steady on a flat surface.

Paint one side white - and cut out and paint a few of the egg cups and the box lid too (for the icebergs)

REMEMBER to also paint a small piece of cereal box card yellow for beaks and feet (about 10cmx10cm).

Once the paint's dry it's time for the black. I found a quick outline with a black pen or pencil on the penguin's front helped. She's pretty neat, my 6 year old, but there mightn't have been a lot of white left if we'd gone completely freestyle!

TIP: Put your penguin on a spare egg carton cone to make it easier to paint (and less messy!)

Use a black marker or gel pen to dot on eyes, close to the top of the head.

For the beak, either: 

Paint or draw one on, 

Or, cut out a small triangle and glue on,

Or, cut a thin strip from the yellow painted cereal box card. Snip the end into a 'V' and cut off the top cm or so (see picture below).

Draw a short line right under the eyes. Use the nail scissors to pierce a hole on the line (keep them closed, press down and twist carefully from side to side). Snip the slot and wiggle the scissors a little, to make it easier to slot the beak through. Dab some glue behind the slot.

Cut two long, thin triangles for feet. Stick the pointy end underneath the front, and leave your penguin lying on its back until the glue is dry. Then bend them into place.

For their frosty, iceberg scene, paint a piece of paper or cereal box card blue, and cut to fit the ice-cream lid. (Paper is easiest - press into the shape of the lid, to make creases around the edges, so you can see where to cut)

Then, have fun arranging your icebergs.
We used part of the egg box lid for a base, then cut the egg cups so they were all different sizes.

Stick the cups on top/in front/in the water - wherever you like really, before sploshing on another thick coat of white to fill any gaps.

One of our penguins has lost his head and gone for a dip...

I've had a request for monkeys and a whale... need to think about the whale, (though there is a whale HERE now!), but I've a sort of plan for monkeys, so they'll be next!

Anything else you'd like to see in the Zoo? Within reason, obviously!

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