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I made some egg carton octopus with the girls today. We’ve been reading books on ocean animals and learning about them so I thought it would be nice to make egg carton crafts for each of the ocean animals we learn about.
Once we have a whole collection of egg carton ocean animals, my 6 year old wants to take a cardboard box and make a ocean for them – compete with seaweed and seas shells. Let’s see if that plan materializes!
This was a super simple kids craft that preschool kids would particularly enjoy. The only part that needs to be done by an adult is cutting off the egg carton piece. It’s harder to cut than paper and requires some sharp adult scissors so always make sure to do the cutting part yourself.
My 6 year old made a baby octopus and I made a grown up octopus. They both ended up looking so cute.
Supplies you need to make 1 recycled egg carton octopus
1. 1 egg carton piece
2. Sharp scissors
3. Craft glue
4. Purple paint (I love these washable Crayola paints, perfect for doing crafts with kids who will inevitably get the paint everywhere!)
5. 1 purple pompom
5. 2 googly eyes
6. 2 purple pipe cleaners
7. White construction paper
(To make the adult octopus you also need purple craft paper and a black marker).
How to Make an Egg Carton Octopus
Start by cutting off 1 piece from the egg carton. Paint it any color you like. Octopus can actually change colors (I discovered that while reading to the kids!) so you can choose from hues of pink, purple, blue, green, orange or brown. My daughter opted for purple since that’s her favorite color.
While the egg carton dries up, take a purple pompom and stick two googly eyes to it (for making the baby octopus). Then stick the pompom on top of the egg carton.
Then take 2 purple pipe cleaners and cut them into 6 pieces (an octopus has 8 legs but we just made 6 to keep it simple!).
Fold each pipe cleaner piece beneath the egg carton and secure it with glue. This is how the bottom part of the egg carton should look like.
Now take the pipe cleaners sticking out and twist some legs outwards and some inwards and some curled up, to mimic the way the octopus’ legs look like.
Lastly, take a white piece of paper and cut a C like shape and stick it beneath the eyes. Your happy looking, adorable little octopus is complete!
To make the adult octopus, the body and legs would be exactly the same. You just have to make a bigger head. Use purple craft paper and cut it into a balloon like shape. Stick on some googly eyes and using a black marker make a smile. Stick the head on to the body and your adult octopus is ready.
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