Egg Carton Caterpillars

Between the gift of a new BIG copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar (which came with a small plush caterpillar that literally fits through the holes!) and a visit to a new local art reuse center, Dylan & I were inspired to make caterpillars.

Supplies

• Egg carton
• Scissors
• Acrylic paint & brushes
• Pipe cleaners (wire cutters to cut in half)
• Googly eyes & glue (optional)

First, I cut the top off the egg carton and then cut the bottom into two long pieces - giving us each a caterpillar "body" to work with (I enjoy these crafts too!).

Then we used red and green acrylic paints to add color. For all his desire pre-project to paint, it didn't really capture Dylan's attention very long. His was a minimalist caterpillar. :)

After the paint was dry, I used the scissors to punch small holes in the head of each for the antennae. I cut one pipe cleaner in half using needle nose pliers (they are also helpful for pressing the ends to reduce any sharp points). We formed a 'U' shape with our half and pushed it up through the holes giving us nice fuzzy antennae.

Finally, we added a little dot of green paint for the nose and glued on googly eyes.

Very simple, fun craft. And, amazingly, they both survived several days including being played with!