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'

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