Frugal Kids Crafts: How to Make Spool Animals

When my children were small, they loved creating villages out of building blocks. The different colored blocks became lakes, rivers, and sidewalks. But, for animals and people to place in the villages, we crafted spool critters.

Materials needed

This is the ultimate frugal craft because it is made with items you probably already have.

You'll need:

An assortment of spools; ones still containing thread are just fine. Be sure that the thread is "locked" into the notch to prevent unraveling.

Stiff cardboard. Cereal and cracker boxes work very well.

Felt markers or crayons

Pencil

Scissors

Glue

Yarn, twine, or heavy string

Pipe cleaners

How to make the pattern

In our house, I have a large assortment of thread spools in a wide range of colors. The color of the threads usually gave us some direction in what animal we wanted to create. Brown thread can become a cow, horse or lion. Orange thread spools make great tigers and giraffes. Pink works for pigs and flamingos. Try gray or white for a cat.

1. Place the spool, end down, on the cardboard. Trace two circles, side by side. One circle will become the rear rump, the other will become the front of the animal.

2. To create the front of the animal, draw a neck and head above one of your traced circles. You can then draw a pair of legs below the circle These legs will have to support the weight of the spool; do make them rather stout. Cut the animal shape out.

3. To make sure that the legs match evenly on the front and rear rumps, use this first cut out as a template for the rump. Match the circle of the body with the circle of the rump, and trace the legs. (see picture #2). When finished, cut out this second piece.

4. Decorate your animal using scribble paints, crayons, or felt marks. Add a tail made of yarn or twisted pipe cleaner. Glue in place.

5. Glue the animal's front quarters to the front of the spool, and the rear rump to the back. Glue on the tails. Allow to dry thoroughly before playing with the critters.

Other ideas