ladybug craft

DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Ladybug Terra Cotta Wind Chime Craft

This is a fun craft that young children can make (most of the features are template pieces that are glued on).  It's also fun for older children or even adults who can use paint techniques for decorating the project instead of the template pieces.

This takes more store bought supplies than most of the projects on my site, but it's a lot of fun to make as a gift.

Materials:

Instructions:

I'm assuming you'll be using the template pieces in these directions.  If you aren't, just skip printing and pasting the pieces and paint on the design by hand.

  • Wipe the terra cotta pot with a rag (just to get any dust off).
  • Paint the outside of the pot completely red and set aside to dry  (takes about 1 hour).
  • Repeat, as necessary (we just did one coat, but you may want to do two).
  • You could do the inside as well, but it isn't necessary
  • Print out the template and cut out the template pieces.
  • Position the pot so it's open side down (upside down) and then design your ladybug face:
    • Glue on the template eyes (you could use large wiggly eyes from the craft store instead)
    • Glue on a number of black dots.
    • Draw on the nose, mouth and eyelashes (if you want) with a permanent black marker.  There are examples on the template but it's best to draw them on yourself.
  • Cut a piece of string about 2 feet long.
  • Thread the ends through a button
  • Tie a loop in the top...  This will be what you use for hanging the pot.
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  • Slip the ends of the string through the hole in the pot (think of the button as a little hat on top of the ladybug's head).
  • Put the second button onto the string and tie another knot as tight as you can.  (you've made a "sandwich" with the two buttons as the bread and the pot as the filling...  The buttons will hold the pot on the string.

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  • Tie some beads, nuts or washers onto the strings at various spots, so they all fall inside the pot.
  • Trace the feet onto the black craft foam and cut it out.
  • Punch holes in the feet.

craft instructions

  • Tie the feet onto the bottom of the strings, trimming any excess.  The feet should hang below the pot about 2 to 6 inches.
  • The feet will be what catch in the wind and make the wind chime make noise.
  • Spray the entire project with two or three coats of spray varnish or spray acrylic.
  • Hang outdoors (or indoors) as a cute decoration.
craft instructions

Templates:

Template

 

Print friendly version of these instructions