Caterpillar Crafts: Fun Summer Art Projects for Kids

Summer is the time when there are all sorts of bugs creeping around, and you can turn those creepy crawlies into great ideas for summer crafts that your kids will love. These caterpillar crafts are easy to create, and they do not cost a lot of money; in fact most of these ideas can be completed using things found around your home. Here are some fun, crafty ways to create caterpillars that your kids will enjoy!

Caterpillars can be made easy from old paper towel rolls. Simple gather a bunch of toilet paper rolls and cut them into three tubes. Next paint them green or whatever color you would like your caterpillar to be, and poke holes in both sides of each tube. Using thread or yarn tie the tubes together in a long chain, and paint the first one with a face. You can also use wiggly eyes if they are available. Add some cardboard or pipe cleaners to the head for antenna and your caterpillar is complete!

Paper chain caterpillars are great and they can be made using left over pieces of junk mail and magazines. Simply paint the paper you are going to use and cut it into strips that are 2 inches wide and 5 inches long. Next make a circle with the first strip and glue it together. Using the next strip loop it through the first and make another circle. Continue until you have a long chain. Next glue wiggly eyes onto the last circle and curled pieces of paper or pipe cleaners, and you will have an awesome caterpillar to hang around your house.

Egg cartons also make great caterpillars and this is a perfect way to recycle the egg carton instead of throwing it away. To make this caterpillar just cut a straight strip off of your egg carton and paint it green. Add a face on one end and some pipe cleaners for antennas and your caterpillar is ready for fun.

Pompoms make great fuzzy caterpillars and these caterpillars can be attached to barrettes or key chains. All you need is some green pompoms, but you can also use other colors if you like. Wiggly eyes and some round sequins are nice for this project, and some pipe cleaners are perfect for legs. Glue the pompoms together in a chain so that they form a body, and cut tiny pieces of pipe cleaners for legs. Bend the legs into L shapes so they have feet and attach them to the body of the caterpillar. Next glue the sequins to the head and the eyes on to so that the sequins looks like eye lashes. Add antennas and this fuzzy friend can be attached to all sorts of things.

Making caterpillars with your kids is a fun way to keep them occupied during the summer, and it will make them familiar with nature's wonders.

Thumbprint Animals and Insects: Fun Summer Crafts for Kids

You would never know it, but you have an incredible craft material right at the tip of your finger. You may be wondering what I am referring to, and I am here to tell you that your thumb and finger prints are a lot of fun, and you can make many different things with them. Here are some ideas on creating thumbprint animals and insects.

A cute rabbit can be created using your thumb and pinky finger print. Stick your thumb in some paint and press it on a piece of paper; next add to ears either straight up or for floppy ears add them to the sides of the bunny's head. Next draw a little nose, some whiskers, buck teeth, and eyes, and you have a great little fingerprint bunny.

Caterpillars can be made with your thumbprints as well. Just dip your thumb in some green paint and make a wiggly looking chain of prints. Next add some feet , eyes, and antennas using a pen, and you will have an awesome caterpillar.

Butterflies are easy enough using finger and thumb prints, and you can make butterflies of different shapes and sizes using different fingers as different wings. Make sure to dip your fingers in more than one color when doing these wings to add a pretty rainbow effect. Press four prints to make the wings and add the bodies, heads, and antennas with a pen or marker.

A finger print turtle is a little more complex, but it looks great when completed. Start buy making a big thumbprint in the middle. Then make two smaller prints on each side of your thumb print. This will create a circular shape. Now make longer fingerprints going around the inside circle of the shell. You should start one at the top and bottom, and have 2 on each side. This will be the turtles shell. Next use your thumb to create the head of the turtle. Use your pointer or middle finger to create hands and feet poking out of the shell. Finally use your pinky to create a tail. You can draw eyes and add details to your tortoise with a pen after the paint has dried.

Another simple thumbprint creature is the bumble bee. Start by making thumbprints with yellow paint. Next add little blue pinky prints to the side of the yellow as wings. After the paint has dried add big round eyes and zigzag patterns to the bee's body. Antennas and a smile are also a good addition to this print.

Thumbprint fish are fun and easy to make. Start by making a big thumbprint for the body. This can be whatever color you like. Next add fins and a tail using your pinky and middle fingers. Finally draw smiles and eyes on your fish when the pain or ink has dried, and be sure to add some bubbles so your fish can breathe.

These crafts are fun and simple. It is less messy to use ink pads when doing these projects, but regular poster paints work just as well. Enjoy creating these animals and see what other creatures you can come up with. You can use these ideas to create greeting cards, add fun details to pictures, and create personalized signs.

Lady Bug Crafts: Fun Summer Art Projects for Kids

Lady bugs are a popular summer insect, and it is said that lady bugs bring good luck with them. So making lady bugs with your kids can be a fun project, but it can also bring good luck to your home. Here are some ideas on how to create fun lady bug crafts with your kids.

Lady bugs can be easily made using old egg cartons and this is a good way to recycle your egg cartons. Cut one round pod out of the egg carton and paint it red. Now paint the first quarter of the pod black, and add eyes. Paint some black dots on the body, and give your lady bug antennas using pipe cleaners and glue. This lady bug is a great recycled craft and a nice edition to your home.

A lady bug apron is a simple kid's project that is also a lot of fun. Simply find a red dinner napkin, fabric glue, black felt, and black ribbon at our local craft or home store. Now cut the ribbon so that it is long enough to tie nicely around your child's waist, and glue it to the napkin. Cut black circles from the felt and glue these to the apron. This apron is ready to wear as soon as it is dry.

A lady bug crown is really cute and easy to make. Simply cute a red strip of paper long enough to fit around your child's head and glue it into a circular crown. Have your child decorate it with black dots, and wind 2 black pipe cleaners into spirals. You can use a pencil to make a nice spiral. Next cut 4 hearts from black construction paper, and sandwich one end of the pipe cleaners between 2 hearts. Glue these hearts together with the pipe cleaner in the middle. Repeat for the second pipe cleaner. Finally tape the pipe cleaner end without the heart to the inside of the crown in the center or on the sides and your crown is complete.

A great lady bug Wind chime can be made easily using an old flower pot, or tin can. Simply paint the tin can red and add black polka dots. With the pot facing upside down paint eyes onto it and a smile. Next add some strings to the inside of the pot and attach some black hearts made out of cardboard or the tin can lid to the strings. If using the tin can lid remember to have an adult cut the tin and sand the edges so it is not sharp. Attach a cord to the top of the pot or can and when it is all dry you can hang your lady bug wind chime outside.

Lady bugs remind me of childhood, and creating these crafts with your children will give them great memories and a good time.

Butterfly Crafts: Fun Summer Art Projects for Kids

Butterflies are beautiful creatures that wander among grass and flowers. They are all over the place in the summer, and many kids like to chase them. Here are some fun butterfly inspired crafts that your kids will love.

Coffee filters can be turned into awesome butterflies easily and with little needed help. All you will need for this project is water color paints and pipe cleaners. Have your kids paint the coffee filters in wondrous colors and patterns. After they have dried fold the pipe cleaner in half and twist the pipe cleaner around the coffee filter so that the ends left over are equal. Now bend these ends into a circle and spread the coffee filter out to look like full wings. These butterflies are easy to make, and they are quite pretty.

Hand print butterfly masks are a splendid and easy project for children. You will need cardboard, paint, scissors, and string for this project. Have the children press there hands into a plate full of paint. Next have them create lovely butterfly shapes using there paint covered hands. The hands can be dipped in different colors and pressed on the cardboard in overlapping patterns to create wings. The children can add details to the butterflies by using the paint and their finger tips. After the paint has dried cut eye holes in the wings and cut around the wing shapes to make a mask. Poke small holes in either end of the mask and tie the string. Your butterfly mask is now ready to be worn.

Toilet paper rolls can be easily turned into butterflies by adding wings made out of card stock. Simply color and cut wings from heavy duty paper. Glue them onto a painted toilet paper tube. Finally add a face to the tube, and some pipe cleaners for antennas and you will have recycled butterfly to hang around your house.

Butterfly windsocks are easy to make, and they are very pretty when done. For this project you will need different colored card stock, glue, markers, scissors, string, and crepe paper. Make a tube out of a sheet of paper and draw a happy face on it. Next draw some big beautiful butterfly wings and cut them out. Glue them to the tube which is the butterfly's body, and attach the string to the top. Add the crepe paper streamers to the bottom of the tube, and you have an amusing butterfly windsock.

Summer is a great time to create butterfly crafts with kids. They enjoy it, and it help keep them busy on those hot summer days.