Making milk jug animals is a great way to get your child’s creative juices flowing. You can make almost any animal imaginable, including a pig, penguin, bear, bat and even a crazy monster. Save your plastic gallon milk jugs and start imagining.
What you’ll need
Plastic milk jug, paint for plastic, acrylic paint, scissors, construction paper, glue, googly eyes and decorations as desired
Step 1: Prepare the milk jug
Clean out your milk jug. Remove labels easily by filling the jug with hot water, letting it sit a few minutes and then pulling the labels off. Use nail polish remover to remove the stamped date.
Step 2: Decide what animal to make
Your choice of animals is limitless; look closely at the shape of the milk jug and use your imagination. To make a piggy bank, lay the jug down on its side, and use the top and cap for the pig’s nose. Cut a slot for money on the top side. To make a frog, stand the milk jug upright, cut a wide mouth across the top half, and add eyes on the mouth of the jug. Use your imagination!
Step 3: Paint the milk jug
If your animal is a color other than white, paint the milk jug the color of your animal. If you are making a frog, paint the entire jug green. If you are making a penguin, paint it black. Let it dry well before decorating.
Step 4: Finish your animal
Use whatever you have on hand to finish creating your animal.
For the frog, paint the stomach a darker green with acrylic paints, or give him spots. Paint nose slots on the top of the mouth opening. Use construction paper to cut out green arms and feet, and attach them with glue. Add cut-out eyes, buttons or googly eyes to the very top on the pour spout. Cut out a tongue and attach it inside the mouth.
For a penguin, glue an oval piece of white construction paper to the stomach area. Add orange feet to the bottom, and attach cut-out black arms at the sides. Make a mouth and eyes, and attach them. Since the spout is his head, add feathers, a puff ball or even a Santa hat to cover it up.
Use your imagination and come up with your favorite animal to make from a milk jug.
More craft ideas
How to scrapbook a vacation
How to paper mache
How to decorate a picture frame
Leave a Comment