More cork crafts - mini-beasts and boats

I was very chuffed to be asked to take part in a craft hangout with Netmums, along with a group of other craft bloggers.

We were given a list of a wide range of recycled materials to chose to craft with, and I picked corks (I wonder why that was?)

Ruby was so happy with the fairy toadstools I made and they are still getting lots of play time out in the garden, popping up here and there to delight the elves so I thought we'd make something else we could play outdoors with.

She helped me to paint the corks in various colours after deciding what bugs the cork shape would lend themselves best to.  Popping them on a skewer like I did with the mushrooms was a very neat and easy way to paint them without getting too messy.  We used a range of acrylic paints.

Once dry, we made the appropriate legs and wings from pipe cleaners.  There was much discussion over who had how many legs.

To make the spider:

• paint the cork black
• take one black pipe cleaner, fold in half and in half again. Cut through the loops to make 8 legs.
• spread out then glue on the underside of the cork.  Add googly eyes.

To make the bee:

• paint the 'head' black and the 'body' yellow.  
• when dried, add black stripes to the body
• take one black pipe cleaner and make a figure of eight shape for the wings
• glue on and add eyes

To make the ladybird:

• paint the cork red
• when dry, paint the 'head' black and add spot details
• glue on eyes

To make the butterfly:

• paint the cork in any bright colour you choose
• take one contrasting or matching pipe cleaner and bend and twist to form the wings
• snip two small pieces of pipe cleaner and tread on a small bead to form the antenna (note small parts not suitable for small children)
• glue in place and add eyes

To make the grasshopper:

• paint the cork green
• take one green pipe cleaner and cut in half. Bend and twist to make two leaf shapes to form the folded legs
• take another green pipe cleaner, cut in half and twist together to make the other four legs
• glue in place and add big buggy eyes

These are great if you leave them on the skewer and you can add them to a pot plant - I think it would make a nice Thank You Teacher gift or grandparent's present.  You can also screw in some little screw eyes (net curtain hanging ones) - they screw in very easily to cork, and tie on some elastic to have them bounce and boing from a tree or the ceiling.

Or how about these cute boats for a super-quick impromptu make.  I'm not even sure I can get away with calling it a 'craft' as it literally takes about 10 seconds, but it's a nice way to use up all those wine corks (ahem), and perfect for floating in a paddling pool or in the bath.

Simply take three corks and secure together with an elastic band.  Add a mast and sail made from a cocktail stick and a piece of washi tape or coloured paper and hey presto.

For more lovely cork craft ideas, check out Red Ted Art's cork knights (so cute and I love how she uses all the pieces from a champers cork) and santa bowling game; Kids Chaos printable Father's Day truck card;
The Fairy and the Frog's cork printing and Here Come The Girls cork letter and number stamps.

Please do also watch the Netmums hangout video for loads of other great craft ideas for the summer.



 Red Ted Art shared her favourite crafts using loo rolls - I love her latest loo roll mini-beasts
Ali showed lots of uses for tin cans such as paint-dipped plant pots and a kick the can game
Anthea shared egg box crafts including her fabulous bird masks  and box crafts including shoe box storage shelves and dioramas
Kelly showed us loads of uses for paper plates I particularly love her dream catcher
and novice crafter Rosie did an amazing job with her flower pot made from a tin can, straws and other bits found around the house, proving you really can use all sorts to craft with.

Such a lovely hangout and many thanks to Netmums for having us along.  I really enjoyed chatting to other craft bloggers about their favourite craft (mine is our junk modelling sack) and our most treasured craft (mine is our elephant parade which holds such happy family holiday memories).