Let’s Make Art brings you some making tutorials using easily found materials that you’ll already have at home
This tutorial teaches you how to make colourful bugs from recycled milk bottles, so clean out your used plastic and get started!
You will need:
- Empty, clean plastic milk bottle
- Scissors
- Permanent markers or paint pens
- Hole punch
- Scrap card/thick paper
- String or suction hooks
- Sticky tape
- Pencil
- Pictures of bugs
Instructions
- Take the milk bottle and cut it into sections (ask an adult to help you with this!) Top tip: Follow the edges, cut off the handle at the top and keep it intact as it makes a good feature for a bug’s antenna!
- Once you have your pieces, trace or draw bug outlines on them (by folding in half, you will get a symmetrical shape), then cut out your designs.
- Using permanent markers or paint pens, colour in your bugs with patterns; spots, stripes, zig-zags and other markings seen on beetles (it’s a good idea to have a look online or in books for bug pattern inspiration!)
- For the legs, use a piece of card, thin paper or excess from the milk bottle. Alternatively, cut up cocktail sticks, matchsticks or paper clip wire.
- Fold the card in half and cut out leg shapes (six per bug) and attach with tape.
- Punch a hole and hang in the window with a suction hook, or thread some string through and hang.
Top Tip: Another idea is to create a garland of all your bug designs!
About Let’s Make Art
Alice and Karen founded Let’s Make Art, an independent arts organisation, in 2012. They run high-quality, unique art activities, events and workshops to ensure people of all ages and abilities experience many art techniques in a fun and imaginative way.
Karen and Alice are currently Artists in Residence at the Arnolfini, Bristol’s International Centre for Contemporary Arts. Their first art book for children was published in 2022.
Photography by: Larry Costales and Let’s Make Art