How to Use Clothes Hangers for Arts and Crafts

Most of us have unused metal clothes hangers lying around the house. A great way to recycle your unwanted hangers is to use them for making crafts with kids. Hangers are easy to bend and form into many different shapes. Leave the hook part intact and use it for hanging the crafts on the wall.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Metal clothes hangers
• Tissue paper
• Construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Nylon knee highs

1. Shape the hanger into an oval and cover the oval with tissue paper. Decorate it to make an Easter egg, a butterfly or a bird. If making a butterfly or a bird, cut wings from construction paper and attach them to the oval to complete the craft.

2. Form a circle with your hanger and cover it with tissue paper to make a pumpkin or a sun. You can also make your circle into the face of a scarecrow, Santa Clause or any animal you wish. Use construction paper to make ears and other features or to add rays to your sun.

3. Bend the hanger into a diamond. After covering it with tissue paper, add a tail and you have a great kite.

4. Make a square with your hanger and use it as a frame for hanging pictures drawn or painted by the children.

5. Turn your metal clothes hanger into a mask by shaping it into a circle and then stretching a nylon knee-high stocking over the circle. Add eyes, a nose and a mouth. Kids can hold onto the handle of the hanger to hold the mask in front of their faces. To make their mask three dimensional, they can push their face into the nylon.

6. Leave the hanger in the original shape and have the children cut pictures out of a magazine or draw and cut out their own pictures. Hang the pictures from the hanger to create a mobile. You could also hang other crafts on the mobile, such as small figures made from clay.