Make these fun monkeys with recycled paper tubes and plastic lids.
Monkeys like the spider monkey live in tropical rainforests. They like to swing from the vines of trees and eat fruit and seeds. Follow the directions below to make your own adorable monkeys.
Supplies you will need for one monkey:
1 Paper tube (you can use a craft roll, toilet paper roll, or a paper towel tube cut in half)
1 plastic lid
2 Large wiggle eyes
2 Poms
1 regular pipe cleaner
3 extra fuzzy pipe cleaners
Brown construction paper
Orange, pink, or yellow construction paper
Black marker
Hole-punch
Scissors
Glue
Tape
Directions:
First, use the plastic lid to trace and cut out a circle from the brown construction paper and set aside. Then use the end of the paper tube to trace and cut out two circles from the yellow (pink or orange) construction paper and set aside.
Next, use a hole-punch to make three holes around the bottom of a paper tube, and two holes at the top. The bottom holes will be for the legs and tail. The top holes will be for the arms. Thread each of the three fuzzy pipe cleaners into each of the holes at the bottom of the tube to form the legs and tail. Then thread one regular pipe cleaner through the top two holes. One pipe cleaner will form both arms. Make circles at the ends for the hands and feet. Wrap the tail around a pencil or your finger to make it curly.
Next, take a yellow circle of construction paper from the first step and glue to the brown circle. Use the marker to draw the lines for the nose and mouth as shown. You can add a few dots for freckles. Then glue on the wiggle eyes. You can then glue the face you’ve created to the inside of the plastic lid. Using the glue, add poms to the sides of the lid for ears. Set aside to dry.
Next, take the second yellow circle and use the marker to draw an “M” to represent fur. Then glue to the middle of the tube to represent the tummy. Use tape to place and hold the plastic lid to the paper tube. The tape will be stronger than glue to hold the head in place.
I hope you enjoy making these fun and colorful monkeys with your kids!
Tools I Use
Here are a few basic supplies I used in this craft from Amazon. You can also visit my Tools I Use Page to find more resources I use for crafts, writing, and blogging.
Monkeys and other fun animals are featured in my book, Frogs Eat Spaghetti…Right? Watch the book trailer below. You can also find lesson plans, puzzles and crafts here.
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