How to Make a Bee Craft With Toilet Paper Rolls

Bees are a sign of spring.

Bumblebees and butterflies outside are a sure sign of sign of spring. Decorate your home with a bee craft project to bring the outdoors in. One of the best things about this project is that it is almost entirely made with things you could put in your recycle bin. Make multiple bees and use them as table decorations or glue them to a spring wreath for your front door. Try making a fun and crafty bee project with your children and see what their ideas are.

Things You'll Need

• Empty toilet paper roll
• 9 inch by 12 inch piece yellow construction paper
• 9 inch by 12 inch piece black construction paper
• 9 inch by 12 inch piece white construction paper
• Gold glitter
• Two .25 inch google eyes
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Rubber cement
• Hot glue

Instructions

1. 

   Use an empty toilet paper roll.

   Measure and cut a out a 4 inch by 6 inch piece of yellow construction paper. Use rubber cement to glue it around the toilet paper roll completely covering it.

2. 

   Set your glue gun on a low temperature for quicker dry time.

   Measure and cut two 1.75 inch yellow construction paper circles and hot glue them to cover both ends of the toilet paper roll. To get the correct measurements, trace one end of the toilet paper roll two times and cut the circles out.

3. 

   Your bee stripes will look like this.

   Measure and cut out three .5 inch by 6 inch black paper strips. Glue them around your bee using rubber cement to create black and yellow stripes.

4. 

   Your antennae will look like curly ribbon after you curl it around your pencil.

   Measure and cut two .5 inch by 3.5 inch black paper strips. Curl them around a pencil to create curly antennae. Bend one end of each strip backwards and use rubber cement to glue that end to the top of the bee's head.

5. 

   The inside of your black paper cone will look similar to this.

   Measure and cut one 1.75 inch black construction paper circle. Cut a slit to the center of the circle. Overlap the ends of the circle to form a cone shape. Use rubber cement to glue the ends together. When dry, hot glue it to the back end of your bee to create a stinger. To get the correct measurements, trace one end of the toilet paper roll and cut the circle out.

6. Glue the google eyes to the front end of the bee using hot glue.

7. 

   Your wings will look similar to this.

   Measure and cut out two 2 inch by 3 inch tear drop shaped wings using the white paper. To make both wings the same size, draw one wing out first, then trace it to get the second wing. Apply rubber cement to one side of both wings. Sprinkle glitter over the glue. Shake the wings to remove loose glitter. Allow to dry for three minutes. Glue them to the back of the bee using hot glue.

Tips & Warnings

• When wrapping the black strips around the bee to create the stripes, make sure the ends all align with the end of the yellow construction paper. The side of the tube where all the ends meet should be the underside of the bee.

• When gluing the yellow paper around the tube, you can put paper clips at the top and the bottom of your tube while the paper dries to keep it from coming off the tube.

• If you don't have google eyes, you can create your own eyes using the black and white construction paper.

• You can add a smile to your bee by cutting out a small black rainbow shape and glue it under the eyes.

• Use a low temperature setting on your glue gun. This will help the glue dry faster and keep your fingers from getting burnt.

Resources

• Bradens's Art Stars, Carolyn Braden's Bumblebee Craft
• Braden's Art Stars, Carolyn Braden's Bumblebee Craft