DIY: Make Your Own Lion Mask

Last week Abbie received her Ranger Rick Jr magazine in the mail (one of her Christmas presents from a relative) and in the back was a craft on how to make a lion mask.  Now its no secret that  I like to do things frugally (frugal sounds so much nicer than cheap :)  The list of materials needed for said "Lion Mask" was about a half a page long.  I thought to myself "That's crazy!"  Surely I can make one out of less materials and things I actually have in my home.  (Old me would have taken Ranger Rick Jr's advice and went to the store and bought $50 worth of materials to make a dumb lion mask).  So sure enough I had everything I needed except for a bottle of glue.  

Here is what I used:

• Modge Podge (or 50:50 ratio of elmer's glue to water..frugal option :)
• Orange and Blake construction paper
• Scissors
• Paper plate
• Popsicle sticks
• Stapler

Directions:

1. Tear up orange construction paper into pieces (1 - 1 1/2 inches).  They don't have to be perfect. 
2. Dip the orange pieces in modge podge (or homemade modge podge) and glue them to the paper plate.  Cover the entire plate with orange construction paper pieces.  

3. Use a new sheet of orange construction paper and cut it width wise into 1/2 inch pieces.  Use your scissors like below to gently curl the construction paper into a curl like you would with curling ribbon.

 4.  Staple the curls all along the edge of the paper plate so it looks like a lion's mane

 5.  Use a hair dryer to help the drying process go faster.

 6.  Cut out eyes, and glue on a black triangle for the nose and long thin pieces of black   

      construction paper for whiskers.  Draw on a mouth if you want.

7.  Staple a popsicle stick or tongue depressor to base of mask so your child has something 

     to hold onto.

Ta-Da!!  A Lion Mask!  

( I forgot to draw on the mouth before taking her picture)

I love that Abbie is starting to have patience to do some projects like this.  Makes the day be fun and gives us something to do!

Anyone out there have any favorite kids crafts listed on their own blog?  Post a comment with the link to it.  I'd love to see all the creative mamas I have out there!

Blessings,