Most children either have a pet or wish they did, which is why making 'junkimals' is likely to be popular.
Junkimals are animals made from junk - boxes, cardboard rolls, bottles, egg boxes, newsprint roll paper, wall paper, furs, string, wool, balloons.
Cardboard rolls or plastic bottles make sturdy legs or necks, barely inflated balloons make good feet, and egg boxes are great for the scaly backs of crocodiles as well as toothy jaws.
Scruffy moggy
You will need:
Scissors, masking tape, PVA glue, paints, paint brushes; scrap materials such as newspaper, cardboard, fabric, wool, scoobies (Scoubidou plastic string) or string, felt
1 Scrunch a roll of newspaper for the head and a larger one for the body.
2 Tape together and wrap in plain paper, pressing it into shape.
3 Squeeze the neck and use masking tape for a collar to keep it in shape.
4 Make two short sausages of newspaper covered in plain paper for paws and tape to the front of the body. Add a longer one behind for a tail.
5 Tape on cardboard ears.
6 Paint on fur (marmalade stripes work well), feet and the face.
7 Whiskers can be painted or added by sticking on scoobies or string cut to size. Stiffen by pasting with PVA glue.
Sausage dog
1 Make as Scruffy Moggy, but elongate the body and head.
2 Tape the head so that it juts out from the body of the dog.
3 Cut small cardboard 'L' shapes of cardboard for the legs and feet.
4 Cut felt or other material into an oval shape and add to each side of the head for the feet.
5 Add a small black paper ball for the nose and a fabric, plaited wool or paper tail. Paint on fur and features.
Scruffy bear
1 Make the body and head as Scruffy Moggy.
2 Make fat sausage-shaped arms and legs out of newspaper and add these to the sides and bottom of the body.
3 Cut large curved cardboard ears and stick on to the head.
4 Paint on bear features.
Alligator head
You will need:
A dozen-sized egg box, two extra cardboard egg cups cut from egg boxes, cardboard 1 Cut the lid from the egg box and re-attach at the end so that it opens like a long jaw.
2 Attach the two egg cups to the head to make 'eyes'.
3 Paint the outside green and the egg box teeth white.
Mouse
You will need:
Cardboard egg cups cut from egg boxes, wool, card or paper, scissors, optional paint brush bristles.
1 Push scissors through the round cup of an egg cup to form a hole 2 Push a length of wool through the hole to form a 'tail', and tie a knot to stop it from coming back out.
3 Attach it to the egg cups. Use masking tape to make a mouse-shaped body.
4 Stick ears on to the opposite end from the tail and add features using paint or a black felt nose and whiskers cut from old paint brushes.
Big junkimals
A big box makes a great body that the child can actually stand in and become part of the junkimal.
You will need:
Large cardboard box, tights, newspaper or other form of stuffing, masking tape or ribbon
1 Simply cut a hole out of the top and bottom of the box.
2 Make artificial human legs and feet by stuffing a pair of tights and hanging them over each side of the box.
3 Make the child's own feet into paws.
4 Add a neck from the edge of the box by cutting one out of card or rolling newspaper.
5 Attach a cardboard head to the neck and a pair of reins to the head.
6 Use masking tape stuck face to face, or ribbon attached to the front and back of the waist hole to make a pair of braces to hold the box up.
When all the pets are completed, encourage the children to name them and then hold a junkimal pet parade. Dressed as junkimals, they can have competitions racing each other. NW
