DIY Egg Carton Animal Portraits Craft To Do With Kids
DIY Egg Carton Animal Portraits Craft To Do With Kids
I wish I could credit the person who came up with this egg carton animal portraits craft because, well, it is such a hit! For reference, I did this project with my third and fourth graders a few weeks ago and their creativity was off the charts!
They had so much fun and each animal face looked different and uinique. If you're ever looking for a project to do where you make something from nothing, this one is it! Here's how I did it with my classes.
Materials Needed to Make Egg Carton Animal Portraits:
Retro Rabbit Egg Carton Portrait
cardboard egg cartons (be sure they are the cardboard ones because the foam ones do not work as well)
markers (I used posca markers)
scissors
decorative scrap paper/recycled paper or wrapping paper
craft glue and glue sticks (I will explain why both are good to have on hand, but if you have to just choose one, I would go with the craft glue. You can also use a hot glue gun, but I don't like to use them with kids unless they are the low temp kind.
popsicle sticks
old cereal boxes or cardboard
templates - oval for the backing and templates for elements like ears, clothing etc.
optional embellishments like googly eyes, rhinestones, etc.
popsicle stick to spread the glue
piece of ribbon
How to Make Egg Carton Animal Portraits:
Ghost Egg Carton Portrait
Have the supplies ready:
Prepare the egg cartons by cutting them up before the kids arrive. I have actually found that for ghosts or more organic looking animals, you can even tear up the cardboard. But doing this prep ahead of time will save you lots of time in class.
Place stacks of scrap paper, wrapping paper or patterned cardstock onto tables
Place markers, glue and scissors on the table - one for each kid. I included gold markers, but this is totally optional
My students wanted to add clothing to their animals but they didn't know how to draw shirts, etc. I cut out some templates ahead of time so that they could trace them onto the papers.
Cut cereal boxes up so that you have rectangles as a background. I recommend cutting the front of a cereal box in half horizontally. Each kid will need two. One to mount the head onto and one for the frame.
Begin by showing the students examples of animal bust portraits. You can find some great examples from these art teachers:
Have the kids design their background. Using a glue stick, glue the patterned paper onto the cardboard. If they do not want a rectangle, they can do ovals instead. Feel free to have an oval template on hand to trace if necessary.
Next, design the frame. The frame should be larger than the oval. I like to cut the frame into a scalloped shape, but this is not necessary. Encourage the kids to do them whichever way they want.
Show the students how to glue the head onto the cardboard by using a popsicle stick. Have them begin to work.
This is a very open-ended activity. I recommend showing them how you make one. I started by choosing an animal, cutting out the parts, the ears, etc and laying them out. Once I was happy with the way they looked, I glued them onto a backing.
Tips:
Fox Egg Carton Portrait
This project takes about an hour and 15 minutes to complete. Kids can choose and animal, but will probably only have time for one
Glue ribbon to the back to hang them up
This project is perfect for kids, but adults can enjoy it too! I had such a blast making mine
Use other recycled materials. Think about using the front of the cereal box to design "graphic tees."
Encourage kids to name their animals.
More Egg Carton Animal Portraits
Looking for more recycled art crafts? Check out these 20 candy wrapper craft ideas!
