Made from simple items such as ice cream sticks and tempera paint, these adorable monsters are sure to be a hit with your kids.
By Amanda Formaro
TWO HEADED SNAKE
- ice cream stick with wide ends
- black tempera paint
- gold glitter glue
- 2″ piece of thin red ribbon
- scissors
- tacky or hot glue
- 4 wiggle eyes
Paint ice cream stick black and let dry. Cut 2″ piece of ribbon into two 1″ pieces. At one end of each piece, cut a tiny triangle out to form a forked tongue. Glue the ribbons to underside of each end of the ice cream stick, be sure that the forked end is sticking out. Using gold glitter glue, carefully apply 3-4 striped down snake’s body. Glue a pair of wiggle eyes onto each end of the ice cream stick.
CENTIPEDE
- ice cream stick
- orange tempera paint
- 6 12″-long orange chenille sticks
- red glitter glue
- 2 wiggle eyes
- tacky glue
Paint ice cream stick and allow to dry. Wrap chenille sticks around body to form legs; bend legs into position. Glue on two wiggle eyes onto head. Fill in gaps on top of ice cream stick between legs with red glitter glue.
GHOSTLY TREE
- ice cream stick
- green tempera paint
- 6 or 7 brown chenille sticks in different lengths
- 2 12″-long brown chenille sticks
- black marker
- 1 white Kleenex ® tissue
Paint ice cream stick green and allow to dry. Wrap 2 of the chenille stick around the bottom of the ice cream stick to create roots or feet for the tree to stand on. With remaining chenille sticks, create branches by wrapping around ice cream stick and then bending in different directions. Fold Kleenex at the seam. Holding seam in your fingers, cut along the seam, about 2 inches down from seam. You should end up with a piece as long as the original Kleenex, but only about 2 inches high that can be unfolded into a 4 inch strip. From this strip, cut into sections about 1 inch long each. From these small pieces, create tiny ghosts by twisting into a ghost shape. Using the chenille branches, carefully wrap the end of the branch around the ghost necks until there is a ghost on each branch. Move branches around so there are some in the front, back and on the sides to make your tree more dimensional. With black marker, carefully dot on eyes and a mouth for each ghost, draw an oval on the tree truck for the hollow effect, and draw a few lines up and down the trunk for bark.
HANDY HERMAN
- ice cream stick
- red tempera paint
- 2 wiggle eyes
- black marker
- 5″ piece of red & white polka dot ribbon
- 6 12″-long red chenille sticks
- Kleenex tissue
- scissors
- tacky or hot glue
Paint ice cream stick red and allow to dry. Wrap chenille sticks around center and lower portion of ice cream stick. Bend sticks to create 4 arms and 4 legs. Fashion a small bow out of red & white polka dot ribbon. Trim ends to make bow about 1-1 1/2″ in length. Glue onto ice cream stick where neck should be. Glue wiggle eyes onto head. Cut a small square (about 1 1/2″-2″) out of Kleenex tissue. Fringe one side of the Kleenex by carefully cutting small slits with scissors. Bunch opposite end of the Kleenex together and glue to the back of the head. Using black marker, draw on mouth and nose.
GHOST
- ice cream stick
- white tempera paint
- black marker
- one Kleenex tissue
- 1 white chenille stick
Paint ice cream stick white and allow to dry. With black marker, draw on eyes and mouth. Poke ice cream stick through bottom third of Kleenex. Using white chenille stick, wrap short end of Kleenex (back of ghost) around the ice cream stick to secure it in place. Fringe the front of the Kleenex tissue by carefully cutting slits up from the bottom.
Copyright © Amanda Formaro
