Jul 262 min read

Get Buggy with it!

The best thing about bugs, they come in all shapes, colors and sizes! That's what makes this the perfect subject matter for a kid-based art project.

A mish mosh of things you probably have lying around can be easily turned into these cute little critters.

Shiny paper really makes the wings POP!

If you prep the cardboard bodies, and lay out all of the materials, your children can make their own little bug friends right at home. All it takes is a few recycled supplies and googly eyes to tie the whole thing together.

Get Buggy With It

Section 1: Prep your materials

Pre-cut round, elongated shapes out of cardboard to use as the bodies.
3 -4 colors of acrylic paint
A foam brush, or large paint brush for the base coat
Q-tips, toilet paper rolls, forks and round sponge brushes for the texture layers.
Scissors and yarn
Glue and Googly eyes
Colorful, shiny scrap paper for wings and eye circles
Pipe cleaners and beads for the antennae
*You'll also want to have a stapler on hand for easy assembly.

Section 2: Making the creature

Have the child cut slits into the body all the way around. Space them out every 1-2 inches, and only cut in about 1/2 inch deep.
Use the sponge brush to paint a base color onto your cardboard body. Smooth the paint across, you shouldn't have any blobs. The paint should absorb quickly and dry relatively fast.
Add layers of texture with different colors using your assortment of unusual painting materials (Q=tips for dots, Toilet paper rolls for circles, Forks for lines)
While your paint dries, cut out shapes for wings from your shiny paper, and select your pipe cleaners for the antennae. You can roll down the ends of the pipe cleaners to add swirls to the ends.
Take a long piece of yarn and secure it to the back of your bug with scotch tape. Then wrap the yarn around the body, being sure to criss cross it, and secure it through the slits you cut earlier.
Staple the wings and antennae on, add beads to the antennae if you like. Glue your googly eyes (as many as you want!) and your bug is ready to take flight!