Wacky Wednesday: Egg Carton Mermaids

Upcycle egg cartons into a beautiful mermaid!

This week’s craft was adapted from the blog Art Camp Studio, which you can find at www.artcampla.com/new-blog/2017/3/12/egg-carton-mermaid-dolls.

Materials:

Included in Your Craft Kit:

• 1/2 egg carton (6 cup sections for one mermaid)
• Mermaid template
• Tail fin template
• Beads & sequins

You Will Also Need:

• Acrylic paint
• Hot glue gun & hot glue sticks
• Patterned or solid decorative paper
• Scissors

Instructions:

Step One:

Cut apart the egg carton into individual cups. Trim the cups so that they have a curved edge (like a fish scale) with the seam in the seam running down the center of the cup. You will need six egg cup sections for one mermaid.

Step Two:

Paint the outside of the egg carton cups with acrylic paint. We used iridescent acrylic paint to create the look of a shiny mermaid tail!

Step Three:

Color in your mermaid template and draw on some hair if you want. You can use paint for this, or you can color in your mermaid with markers or colored pencils depending on which medium you prefer. Next, cut a swimsuit top out of decorative paper and glue it onto your mermaid, or use paint or markers to draw on a swimsuit top.

Step Four:

Cut tail fins out of cardstock and paint them to complement the egg carton tail.

Step Five:

Cut a slit in the top carton of the tail, making sure that the slit is cut perpendicular to the center seam. You may have to use a box cutter (make sure to have an adult do this step!). Insert the mermaid body template, and then fold the tab inside the carton cup and glue it down to secure the mermaid body.

Step Six:

Now you can start assembling the rest of the tail by hot gluing the remaining egg carton cups together, and then gluing the assembled cups to the one that is attached to the mermaid. Next, use some glue to attach the tail fins to the bottom of the tail.

Step Seven:

Your mermaid is complete! Add some finishing touches by gluing on sequins and beads. What is your mermaid's name??

Looking for more fun creative activities this summer? Use your Basalt Library card to access arts and crafts classes from CreativeBug!