A Fun Use-What-You-Have Craft: Recycled Cardboard Tube Animals!

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toilet-tube-lion-supermakeit

As I’ve written many many times, recycled toilet and paper towel tubes are some of my favorite materials. In fact, I have a new e-book dedicated to them, Toilet Tube Treasury! Older kids handy with scissors can make these creatures and adults should handle any cuts made with the utility knife. Once they see how many ways there are to cut cardboard tubes, they will come up with tons of ideas of their own! Create a habitat by cutting paper watering holes and cardboard trees. The eyes are made by hole- punching black construction paper. To glue on tiny circles and other shapes, dot glue onto the tube with a toothpick. Alternatively, the features can be drawn on with a marker.

supplies
- scissors
- paper towel tubes
- pencil
- small pieces of scrap cardboard
- craft knife
- black paper or a black marker
- 1⁄8" hole punch
- white glue and adhesive dots (optional)
LION
1. Cut the lion’s mane by trimming @ 1 1/2” fringes into one side of a paper towel tube. Fold the fringes back.

2. To make the face, trace a circle onto scrap cardboard, using the uncut side of the tube as a template. Cut the circle out inside the traced line. Glue or draw on eyes, a small triangular nose, and a mouth. Squeeze a thin line of glue just inside the tube at the mane end and fit the circle into the tube, as shown. To make the legs, cut off two 1/2" strips of another paper towel tube. Taper the cut ends of both the strips. Glue each set of legs under the lion’s torso.

3. Cut a tail from the other tube, and glue it to the body.

toilet-tube-giraffe-supermakeit

GIRAFFE
1. Sketch a giraffe on a paper towel tube. (The head will fold down.

2. Use a craft knife to make a starter hole in the tube where it is hard for scissors to reach. Cut out the giraffe shape. Fold down the head, fold up the ears, and glue or draw on eyes.

toilet-tube-monkey-supermakeit

MONKEY
1. Following the photo, draw a monkey head about 2/3 down onto a paper towel tube with a little neck. Draw arms going up and legs and a tail at the bottom.

2. Cut the shapes with scissors, or, if needed, a craft knife to carefully saw into the tube for areas that are hard to reach with scissors (like between the monkey’s legs). Cut the snout out of a scrap from the tube.

3. Bend the neck down and then bend the head up at the chin. Glue or draw on eyes. Affix the snout with an adhesive dot.

4. Bend down the arms and a small section at the bottoms of the arms for hands. Bend up the legs, and tail.

toilet-tube-antelope-supermakeit

ANTELOPE
1. Draw two lines 3” apart in the center of a paper towel tube (this will be the torso). On one side of the tube, draw 4 legs (two coming off of each line) for legs, as in the photo. On the opposite side of the tube, draw on a head with a long neck.

2. Cut out the antelope, using a craft knife if needed to carefully saw into the tube for areas that are hard to reach with a scissors (like between the antelope’s legs). Cut long skinny strips for antler shapes from scrap cardboard or another tube.

3. Fold the legs down, the neck and head up and then the head down.

4. Glue on antlers, and fold at the center. Glue or draw on eyes.

toilet-tube-elephants-supermakeit

ELEPHANT
1. Draw two lines 4” apart in the center of a paper towel tube (this will be the torso). Draw a trunk coming off one end of the torso and a tail off the other. Draw two "‘C’ shapes for ears.

2. Cut out the elephant shape. Use a craft knife to carefully saw into the tube for the ears. Fold the ears forward. Glue or draw on eyes.

3. To make the legs, cut a 1/2” ring off another paper towel tube. Cut the ring in half. Glue the legs under the elephant’s torso, as shown.

4. For a baby elephant, shorten the torso length and cut the legs shorter.

I hope you’ll make your own cardboard menagerie! And please tag me at @supermakeit so I can see your creature creations!