Cotton Ball Craft Ideas
Cotton ball crafts are fun, easy, and low on the mess factor. Kids off all ages can create masterpieces that are fuss-free yet big on delight. Cotton balls glue easily onto a variety of mediums, making them perfect material for younger kids. From simple gluing to color dying, cotton balls are an inexpensive material for your crafting adventure.
Cloud and Rainbow Wall Hanging
For kids aged four and up, a cloud and rainbow wall hanging is easy to make using just a paper plate, colored markers or tempera paint, a ribbon or pipe cleaner, glue, and of course, a bag of cotton balls. Cut the paper plate in half, paint or color rainbow stripes along the top, arching like a rainbow does across the sky from end to end of the plate. Glue the cotton balls along the straight, bottom edge to create clouds. Glue a ribbon or pipe cleaner to the back and hang on a wall or door as a welcome sign for visitors or cheer for gray days.
Sheep!
Sheep are obviously the perfect subject for cotton ball art. Using an empty bathroom tissue tube, some scrap paper, black or white pipe cleaners, a piece of black felt and wiggle eyes, kids over age four will love crafting their own little sheep. First, wrap the pipe cleaners around the front and back of the tube, near the edges, leaving the ends straight to act as legs. Next, stuff the tube with scrap paper, leaving a bit poking through one end to be used as the face of the sheep. Glue cotton balls onto the tube, including the paper on the back end but not the front where the face will be. For the face, cut the black felt into a circle large enough to cover the front end of the tube. Place glue along the edges of the felt and tuck into the tube, over the paper. Glue more cotton balls around the seam to make the neck. To finish, glue on wiggle eyes and add small, triangle pieces of felt for ears.
Hatching Chick
A fluffy little chick hatching from an egg is also a great cotton ball craft. You’ll need two cotton balls per chick, an egg carton, orange construction paper, wiggle eyes, glue, a Ziploc bag, and a bit of yellow food coloring or tempera paint.
Mix the paint or coloring with a little water in the Ziploc bag and add the cotton balls. Let the color soak into the cotton thoroughly. Allow the cotton to dry over night on a sheet of foil or wax paper. Cut the egg carton into individual cups to resemble an eggshell. Dab some glue into the bottom of the cup and attach one cotton ball for the chick’s body, then glue the second ball onto the first as a head. Fold the paper in half, and cut into a triangle so that when unfolded, it looks like a diamond. Glue this on as the beak. Glue on the wiggle eyes.
Cotton balls are a cheap and safe material for your kid’s projects, and you’ll be surprised by the fun ideas they inspire.
