Clothespin Craft Directions
Clothespin crafts are excellent choices when working with a group of small children, as they do not require any advanced techniques to be completed. A clothespin alligator, complete with pipe cleaner legs, is a fun craft for children, and can be converted into a lizard by changing the color of the pipe cleaner and paint. For holiday crafting, a trio of clothespins allows you to make your own reindeer ornaments, and by making one with a red nose and eight with black noses, you can create your own sled team for Santa.
Things You'll Need
- Clothespins
- Green paint
- Paint brush
- Pipe cleaner
- Googly eyes
- 6-inch-long string
- White cotton ball
- Red felt
- Black felt
- Black paint
- Rid ribbon
- Jingle bell
Instructions
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Alligator Craft
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1
Paint the clothespin green, then set aside to dry.
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2
Cut a green pipe cleaner in half.
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3
Fold both ends of one of the cut pipe cleaner sections in to the midpoint, then repeat for the second section.
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4
Open up the clothespin, then slide the center of one folded pipe cleaner section into the clothespin as far in as it will go. Release the pin, then fold the ends of the pipe cleaner down to make the front legs.
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5
Place the second pipe cleaner section in the back end of the clothespin and secure with glue, then bend the back legs down.
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6
Glue a googly eye on either side of the pin near the front of the pin to make eyes for your alligator.
Reindeer Craft
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7
Tie a 6-inch length of string in a loop.
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8
Place one end of the loop between the front end of two clothespins, so the loop extends above the pins and the two pins are aligned to create what appears to be a double-thick clothespin. Secure the pins together with glue. This is the body of the reindeer, with the loop used for hanging.
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9
Glue a third clothespin to the two joined pins, with the pin facing in the opposite direction and only slightly overlapping. Secure with glue. The upside down pin creates the head, with the two ends that would be pressed to open the pin making the antlers.
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10
Glue a poof ball to the back of the joined clothespins as the deer's tail.
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11
Cut a small circle of felt -- red for Rudolph, black for other reindeer -- and glue it to the front of the head near the bottom of the pin to create a nose.
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12
Glue two googly eyes to the front of the head pin.
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13
Cut two black ear shapes and glue them to the front of the head pin, hanging out to the side, to make ears.
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14
Paint the bottoms of the two body pins black to make hooves.
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15
Thread a jingle bell over 2 inches of ribbon.
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16
Tie the ribbon around the deer's body so that the bell hangs beneath the head.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Paint the inside of the mouth of the gator pink when the green paint dries, then paint small white triangles on the dried green to make teeth.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
