Are you feeling CRABBY? Well this recycled crab might be just what you need. I love crafts that allow me to recycle my trash and stretch the money I had once spent even further. So if you’re like me, then give this Trashy Crab craft a try!
What you’ll need:
- An empty container (mine is a cookie container from Publix Bakery)
- 4 red mini Solo cups
- Red paint and brushes (my paint is washable because…kids)
- Red and white construction paper
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Hot glue gun
- Black marker
Let’s get started:
1. Find an empty container, wipe it clean of any crumbs, and remove any labels.
2. Paint the inside red. Tip: Painting the inside, instead of the outside, allows you to paint both sides at the same time instead of waiting for one to dry before flipping it over. It also looks cleaner to me because you still have the outer shine of the plastic instead of the matte paint.
3. Using the red construction paper, cut out 2 circles for the back of the eyes, 2 claws, and several legs. I only cut out 6 legs for my crab but you can do 8 to make a total of 10 legs, if you want yours to be anatomically correct.
4. Using the white construction paper, cut out 2 more circles that are slightly smaller than the red circles and draw a black pupil in the center of each.
5. Glue one of the white circles to one of the red circle to make an eyeball. Repeat with the other set of circles.
6. Glue one of the eyeballs to the front of one of the mini Solo cups. Repeat with the other eyeball. Then use the glue gun to glue the eyes to the top of the container.
7. Glue the crab claws to the last two mini Solo cups and use the glue gun to adhere these to the side of the container.
8. Lastly, glue the legs to the bottom lip of the container opening. And voila, you have an adorable crab!
We turned our crab into a game by throwing in some pom pom balls to help feed the crab.
During most of my crafts, I like to turn them into learning opportunities for my kids. For this crafts we talked all about crabs. We talked about what they look like, where they live, what they eat, etc.
Here are a few facts about crabs that you can discuss with you kids:
- Crabs live in the ocean, fresh water, and some live entirely on land
- They eat just about anything on the ocean floor to include algae, fungi, worms, fish, other crabs, etc.
- They have no backbone and are covered by a hard shell that’s also known as an exoskeleton
- They have 10 legs (although I only put 8 on my crab)
- They have their own built in weapons to protect themselves – their claws or pincers
- They use their claws to fight off predators or to catch their own prey
