How to Make a Pipe Cleaner Dinosaur

Pipe cleaners are easy to bend into the shape of a dinosaur. This craft project is mess-free and easy for younger kids to make. Follow these directions to make a cute, fuzzy Brontosaurus with a coiled body in just a few minutes.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• 6 pipe cleaners per dinosaur
• Pencil
• Thick marker
• Craft glue (optional)
• Google eyes (optional)

1. Twist 4 pipe cleaners together to make one long stem. Pipe cleaners, or chenille stems, can be found in multi-colored packs at most crafts and hobby stores. Overlap pipe cleaners 1 inch to keep them together.
2. Wrap each end of the long stem around pencil to make a tight coil then remove the pencil. This creates the head and neck at one end, and tail at the other end. Leave two pipe cleaners uncoiled in the middle for the body.
3. Make a fatter body by twisting the 2 middle pipe cleaners of the long stem around a thick marker, then slide the marker out.
4. Create legs by bending 2 pipe cleaners into a V-shape. Wrap each end of the "V" around the pencil to create a small coil. Insert the 2 V-shaped legs into the bottom of the dinosaur body and twist a few times to hold in place.
5. Stretch out one end of the pipe cleaner body to make a neck but leave the end in a compact coil to look like a head. Pull out the other end to lengthen the tail.
6. Glue google eyes to the head, if desired. Google eyes can be found at most crafts and hobby stores.

Tips & Warnings

• The tip of pipe cleaners can be sharp from the exposed wire ends. To prevent injury to little fingers, bend down exposed wire with a wire cutter or scissors.