Toothbrush Insect Craft
Earth Day is dedicated to helping protect the environment; green initiatives, such as recycling, are promoted and encouraged at Earth Day celebrations. To teach your kids about the importance of protecting the environment, have them recycle old household items such as toothbrushes into unique crafts related to our natural habitat. A toothbrush can be turned into a stick bug or a butterfly, depending on the child's preference.
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Preparing the Toothbrush
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If using old toothbrushes, clean the brushes thoroughly before allowing your kids to handle them. Place the toothbrushes into a pot of boiling water for several minutes to sterilize them and then let dry before beginning the craft project.
Materials
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Gather together white air-drying clay, acrylic paint, googly eyes, craft glue, construction, paper, scissors and colorful pipe cleanerss. If the project is to make a butterfly, first cut out butterfly wings out of colored construction paper; the wings should be the length of the toothbrush and each wing should be 12 inches wide. Have the child or children decorate the wings with markers, crayons and add glitter to make the wings sparkle.
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Assembling the Insects
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Take the white air-drying clay and mold it closely around the toothbrush so that it forms a thin coat over the plastic of the toothbrush. The bristled part of the toothbrush is the insect's head; mold the clay around the bristles so that they are no longer visible. Once the clay has dried, you can paint it whatever color you wish. A butterfly's body is dark brown or black; a stick bug can be green or brown. Let the paint dry completely. Glue the googly eyes to the insect's head. Glue the pipe cleaners to the body to create legs for a stick bug or antennae for a butterfly. Glue the wings next, if the insect is a butterfly.
Decorating the Insect
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Decorate your insect using glitter or paint. Paint lines on the insect's body to create sections of the abdomen or stripes down the insect's body. Paint a smile on the insect's face to create a cute looking bug. When finished, pose the insect on an indoor household plant to make it look as if it is climbing a tree or about to take flight.
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