Turn an old egg carton into 3D animal portraits you can hang on your wall. Cut out the pointy cones from inside the carton to create wild animal faces, then paint the rest of the animal’s body on a piece of cardboard. It’s recycled art that looks like it belongs in a gallery.
Materials
Supplies:
- Cardboard egg carton (the kind with pointy cones between the eggs)
- Sturdy cardboard (about 5 x 7 inches per critter)
- Acrylic craft paint and markers
- Craft glue
- String or yarn
- Tape
Tools:
- Scissors (grownup help needed)
- Ruler
- Markers or paintbrush
- Googly eyes (optional)
Don’t have paint? Markers and crayons work fine for the body. No cardboard? Use a sturdy paper plate or the lid of a cereal box instead.
You can also use the egg-carton cups to create animals with shorter snouts!
Steps
- Cut out a cone. For the animal’s head, cut out one pointed cone from the inside of an egg carton. (See diagram below.) Trim the bottom of the cone evenly.
- Paint the cone. Paint a face on the cone and let it dry. Draw eyes with markers or glue on googly eyes.
- Cut your cardboard. Cut a piece of sturdy cardboard to about 5 by 7 inches. This is your portrait background.
- Glue the cone on. Glue the head to the piece of cardboard, as shown. Once the glue has dried, paint the animal’s body on the cardboard.
- Add ears. Cut ear shapes from the lid of the egg carton. Paint the ears and glue them in place.
- Finish the details. Paint a border along the edges of the cardboard to look like a picture frame.
- Add a hanger. Tape a loop of string to the back of the cardboard. Hang your artwork where you can admire it!
Grownup help needed: An adult should help with cutting the egg carton cones and cardboard, especially for kids under 7.
