Butterfly TP tube craft

What You Need: 1 toilet paper tube; red and pink construction paper or cardstock (I used cardstock); 1 white pipe cleaner; 2 googly eyes; foam hearts; scissors; glue; black marker; pencil; tape.

How to Make It: Fold red cardstock in half and draw half of a wing shape. Cut and open to reveal wings. Cut pink cardstock the length and width of a toilet paper tube and adhere around the tube using glue or tape. Adult should cut pipe cleaner in half and help child roll ends around a pencil for curly antennae. Tape inside toilet paper tube body. Glue on eyes and draw mouth. Glue or tape wings to back of body and decorate with foam hearts, markers, or any way you’d like.

Coffee filter turkey

What You Need: 1 coffee filter; food coloring (or markers, etc.); brown, red, and orange construction paper; two googly eyes; scissors; glue.

How to Make It: Drip or spray food coloring onto wet coffee filter. Or, use markers. Set aside to dry on a paper towel. Cut turkey shape (kind of like a peanut) from brown construction paper. Cut out and add orange beak and red wattle. Glue on googly eyes. Once coffee filter feathers are dry, glue turkey body to it.

TP roll turkey craft

What You Need: 1 toilet paper roll; yellow, orange, and red construction paper; pencil (for tracing); scrap of red paper (for wattle); scrap of orange paper (for beak); 2 googly eyes; glue; scissors.

How to Make It: Trace each family member’s handprint and cut out. Glue, staggered, on top of each other as shown. Glue set to back of toilet paper roll. Cut out wattle and beak (folded or just a triangle) and glue toward top of roll. Glue on eyes.

Flamingo Valentine

What You Need: Pink pipe cleaners; pink cardstock or construction paper; pink patterned paper (optional); heart shaped template or punch (or freehand or trace a heart); black marker; googly eye; glue.

How to Make It: Cut out two hearts that are the same size. Bend pipe cleaner as shown to make neck and legs (for a large flamingo, you may need two pipe cleaners; for a small one you’ll want to cut one apart). Glue two hearts together, securing the pipe cleaners in the process. Cut two head shapes (an adult may want to make a template for the kids). Use black marker to make bill. Glue on googly eye(s). Glue head pieces together at the end of the neck. Bend pipe cleaners to position head and legs. Child can write name or Valentine message on one side of the flamingo.

Farm animal bookends

What You Need: 2 wood blocks (sanded, or older children can sand their own); 8 craft sticks; wood glue or another stong but safe glue (supervise children carefully); acrylic paints; brushes; assorted plastic farm animals and accessories.

How to Make It: Paint wood blocks green for grass (or yellow for hay, or any color they’d like!). Paint craft sticks white or brown. Let dry. Glue sticks into fence shape as shown. Let dry. Glue to wood block. Repeat for other bookend. Arrange animals in barnyard scene and adhere with glue.

Worm bookmark

What You Need: Craft foam in bright colors; medium pompom; short length of pipe cleaner; 2 small pompoms; durable circle punch or quarter (to trace around); foam glue; scissors.

How to Make It: Punch out circles, or trace around a quarter with pencil and cut out the circles (littler kids may need some help with this). Glue circles together, overlapping slightly. Glue medium pompom to top circle. Cut 2 approximately 1-inch lengths of pipe cleaner for antennae and glue behind top circle. Glue small pompoms to ends of pipe cleaners. Optional; add googly eyes.

Bunny ears

What You Need: white cardstock; pink cardstock or construction paper; glue; staples.

How to Make It: Cut two strips of cardstock about 2 inches wide and staple together. Adult can help child wrap the strip around his or her head to see how long the band should be. Trim and staple. Cut two long, pink ear shapes and two white ear shapes that are a little larger. Glue pink to white and staple ears to band.

Cotton ball sheep

What You Need: 1 toilet paper roll tube; bunch of cotton balls; glue; tape; scissors; 1 black pipe cleaner; 2 googly eyes; scrap of white cardstock; something black for the head (pom pom, crumbled-up tissue paper, etc. We used a piece of fleece fabric rolled into a ball.)

How to Make It: Cut pipe cleaner in half (adult job). Fold each pipe cleaner into a U shape and tape to bottom of toilet paper tube for legs. (These will probably not be sturdy enough for your sheep to stand on, so he’ll need to be resting, or use something stronger, such as painted dowels.) Use glue to cover top and sides of paper tube with cotton balls. Stuff black pompom, tissue paper or fabric into one end of tube for head. Cut two ear shapes from white cardstock and glue to head. Glue on googly eyes.

Easter chick purse

What You Need: 1 dessert-size paper plate; nontoxic yellow paint; paintbrush; stapler; scrap of orange cardstock or construction paper; googly eye; black marker; scissors; glue; orange pipe cleaner (or use yarn).

How to Make It: Paint at least half of bottom of paper plate yellow. Let dry. Fold in half and secure with staples (adult help, please!). Use black marker to outline a chick wing. Cut triangle shape for beak and glue on. Glue on eye. Staple pipe cleaner to back side of “purse” for handle.

Handprint lamb

What You Need: Black construction paper; glue; white crayon; googly eye (optional); pencil; scissors.

How to Make It: Trace around hand and cut out. Position so fingers face down (these are the legs and the thumb is the lamb head). Use glue to cover “palm” with cotton balls or popcorn. Use white crayon to draw in eye and mouth, or use googly eye.