Crafts

Cardboard Tube Bear Craft

June 8, 2021 By Terri Thompson

We’re building a zoo.

Unfortunately, it’s not a zoo that you can come and visit. But, it’s one that we can share with you and one that you can make yourself.

This should be fun!

Let’s make a zoo full of cardboard tube animals. We’re going to start with this friendly cardboard tube bear craft.

Create a zoo and fill it with this simple cardboard tube bear craft. It's a simple and fun kids craft that makes use of recycled materials.

How to make your cardboard tube bear craft

Begin by choosing the color for your bear. My oldest daughter wanted to make a brown bear and the youngest wanted to make a black bear. Either one is a super cute choice.

Use the color you chose to paint your entire tube.

While your paint is drying, cut two ear shapes and a round snout out of your brown construction paper. (See the picture above for examples.)

Use your marker to add the details. Color the insides of your ears and add a nose and mouth to your snout.

Once the paint on your cardboard tube is dry, glue on your eyes and snout.

Glue your ears to the top inside of the tube so they’re peeking out from the top. They should be placed directly above your eyes.

Once your glue is dry, your bears are ready to play with.

Our zoo is just beginning, but it’s off to a great start.

What else should we add? Hippos, tigers, alligators, pandas… They all sound like fun! Let’s get crafting!

Find your supplies here:

In addition to some cardboard tubes from your recycle bin, here are a few other supplies to help you make your cardboard tube bear.

Cat Bookmark Craft for Kids

May 10, 2021 By Terri Thompson

Everyone in my family loves cats.

We think they’re silly and they’re definitely fun.

We love to cuddle with them and pet them until they purr. Don’t you just love the sound of a cat purring?

So, of course, we had to add a pretty orange tabby cat bookmark to our growing pile of animal bookmarks.

Mark the pages in your book with this cute tabby cat bookmark. It's easy to make when you follow these step-by-step instructions.

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This cat bookmark is very simple to draw, just follow the step-by-step tutorial.

In no time, you’ll have a super-cute cat peeking over the top of your current book.

Supplies Needed for Your Cat Bookmark:

Milk cap
White Cardstock
Pencil
Ruler
Watercolors
Black marker
Orange marker
Scissors
Craft Knife

How to Make Your Cat Bookmark

Step 1: Start by tracing your milk cap. This will be your cat’s head.

Step 2: Next, make your cat’s chin, just a little bit pointier. I drew a pointy chin and erased the original pencil line.

Next, use the ruler to make two straight lines down from the head, about 6 inches in length and 1-1/4 inches apart. Connect the two lines with another straight line at the bottom.

Step 3: Now, go back to your head. Add two small triangles for the ears. Also add a small triangle, point side down, in the middle of the head for the cat’s nose.

Draw a wide, rounded “w” shape coming down from the nose for the mouth. Add two small eyes and whiskers if you desire.

Step 4: Finally, draw your paws. Start from your head and draw a rectangle. Draw two half circles on the bottom of this rectangle and add some claw marks in each.

Add your color and finish your cat bookmark

Once you’ve finished drawing, get out your watercolors to add color. I wanted an orange tabby cat, so I painted a light coat of orange watercolor over the entire bookmark.

Feel free to make your cat any color. Make a grey cat, a black cat, a multicolored cat, or even leave your bookmark unpainted for a white cat.

Once the paint dries, use your black marker to trace all your pencil lines. Use your orange marker to add your stripes and the details in the ears.

Carefully out your bookmark along your black lines.

Finally, use the craft knife to cut around the two sides and the bottom of the smaller rectangle for your paws. You do not want to cut the top edge under the chin.

I have this ceramic craft knife that I love to use. It’s easier to hold, stays sharper, and is much safer than a retractable craft knife. If you are ready to let your child use a tool like this, this is a great choice. If not, have an adult do this step.

Now, you’ve got a happy cat to peek up from the top of your book.

It won’t purr like a real cat, but it’s definitely as cute as one. And, it’s a great way to keep your place in your favorite book.

My Must Have Kids Craft Resources

Crafting with your kids is so much easier when you keep a few supplies on hand. I keep a supply of recycled materials, such as cardboard tubes, cardboard boxes, newspapers, paper scraps, egg cartons etc. as well as supplies such as paint, construction paper, and glue that we use often. Here are some supplies you may want to keep on hand to make many of the crafts that we share here.

Cardboard Tube Hippo Craft

April 23, 2021 By Terri Thompson

Gah. Hippos are so cute, aren’t they?

And, this cardboard tube hippo craft is about as cute as it gets. Those eyes, those teeth, that nose. Yep, these are super-cute!

So, let’s get crafting! Grab some cardboard tubes and we’ll make some hippos.

Grab a few things from the recycle bin to make this cardboard tube hippo craft. It's fun to make and it's fun to play with.

Supplies Needed for Your Cardboard Tube Hippo Craft

Empty cardboard tube (from a toilet paper roll or a paper towel roll cut to size)
Small piece of thin cardboard (from a cereal or cracker box)
Two different shades of grey craft paint (a darker color and a lighter color)
White craft paint
Glue
Googly eyes
Black marker

How to Make Your Cardboard Tube Hippo Craft

Begin by painting your cardboard tube with the darker grey paint for the body of your hippo. Also, paint your smaller piece of cardboard with the same color of paint.

Let each piece dry before you move on to the next step.

This is a great time to take a book break! Try a hippo book like Fiona the Hippo or Hippos are Huge! while you’re waiting for the paint to dry.

After the paint is dry, cut two circles from your thin piece of cardboard for your ears.

Use your black marker to color in the center of each circle. Only the top half of your ear will be showing on your hippo, so make sure you can also see the black in the middle.

Next, use the lighter color of grey to paint an oval in the top half of your cardboard tube. This is going to be the hippo’s snout.

Use your white paint to make two square teeth at the bottom of your snout.

Once the paint on your snout is dry, draw two long ovals with your black marker for your hippo’s nostrils.

Glue your eyes above the snout and glue your ears directly above your eyes. You’ll want to glue the ears to the inside of your tube so they peek up from the top.

Add your hippo to your cardboard tube zoo or make a whole bloat of hippos for pretend play. (A group of hippos is called a bloat. Did you know that? I didn’t!) No matter what, just have fun playing with your super-cute hippos!

My Must-Have Kids Craft Resources

Cardboard Tube Penguin Craft

December 30, 2020 By Terri Thompson

There’s no better way to inspire my kids to do a craft project than to offer up something cute.

And, penguins are definitely as cute as it gets.

Have you ever met a person that didn’t think penguins were cute? I haven’t. They’re irresistible.

So, grab a few supplies and let’s get starting crafting. We’ll turn them into a cardboard tube penguin so cute you’ll want to make a whole colony.

Grab some recycled materials to make this cardboard tube penguin craft. They're so cute and so easy to make that you'll want a whole colony of penguins.

Supplies Needed for your Penguin Craft

Empty toilet paper roll tube (or paper towel tube cut into smaller pieces)
Pencil
Black craft paint
White craft paint
Glitter paint
Googly eyes
Scrap of yellow paper

How to make your cardboard tube penguin craft

Begin by drawing a large oval on one side of your cardboard tube.

Paint the inside of your oval white.

Next, paint the rest of your tube with the black paint.

Let it dry a bit before moving on to the next step.

Now, it’s time to add a little sparkle. We used some fun glitter paint to paint over our white oval. You could also use glitter glue to add sparkle.

After all your paint is dry – and it can take awhile, so go read a penguin book or two while you wait – it’s time to add your face.

Gather a couple of googly eyes and cut a small triangle out of your scrap of yellow paper. Glue both on the top half of your white oval to create your face.

Once the glue is dry, your penguin is done.

Create a Cardboard Tube Penguin or two or three or more to create your own colony of these cute birds.

They’re so cute, they’re irresistible!

My must-have kid’s craft resources:

Crafting with your kids is so much easier when you keep a few supplies on hand. I keep a supply of recycled materials, such as cardboard tubes, cardboard boxes, newspapers, paper scraps, etc. as well as supplies such as paint, construction paper, and glue that we use often. Here are some supplies you may want to keep on hand to make many of the crafts that we share here.

Cardboard Hockey Stick Craft

December 15, 2020 By Terri Thompson

It’s hockey season!

Do you have a kid that loves hockey? Here’s a great craft that they’ll love.

Make this fun Cardboard Hockey Stick to celebrate this fun sport and to make a fun decoration for any hockey fan.

Your young hockey fans will love to make this simple Cardboard Hockey Stick craft. It's fun to make and use to decorate your room.

Are you ready to make your hockey craft?

Let’s grab some supplies and get started!

Supplies Needed:

Cardboard from a shipping box
Pencil or marker
Scissors
Craft paint (in whatever color you want for your hockey stick)
Washi tape

How to make your hockey stick craft

First, you’ll want to draw a simple hockey stick shape on your cardboard.

Hint: If you’re unsure of how to get started, just Google “hockey stick” and take a look at the photos. It’s a simple shape, but make sure to use a pencil so you can erase if needed.

Once you have your hockey stick outline, cut out the shape.

If you’re working with young kids, an adult should do this step. Cardboard boxes can be hard to cut through and need sharper scissors.

And, if you want to do this craft with a group of kids, I would recommend prepping the cardboard ahead of time and then the kids can paint and decorate their hockey sticks.

Once you have your hockey stick cut out, paint the entire surface in the color of your choice.

We chose black, but you can do any color. You can even choose your favorite team’s colors!

Let your paint dry before moving on to the next step. Once it’s dry, pick out a few fun rolls of washi tape.

Use the washi tape to make stripes on your hockey stick. Put them around the bottom or the top. Or, put your stripes anywhere you’d like.

Don’t have washi tape? Use can draw designs on masking tape and use it instead. Or, you can just decorate your hockey stick craft with stickers!

And, we’re done! Wasn’t this such a fun and simple craft?

Your hockey fans will want to make a few of these. Maybe for their favorite team or perhaps one for the team they play on.

Check out my favorite craft resources.

This fun hockey stick craft only uses a few supplies. Grab some cardboard from your recycle bin to use with these supplies: