Milk Jug Monster

Don't forget to scroll down and see the details to our hair bow giveaway!

**NOTE:  This is not necessarily a tutorial, but more of a way to show that you can make something out what seems like nothing!  But there is definitely enough explanation to make one of these monsters yourself!**

Crafting can often be expensive...because craft stores can convince you that you need ALL of their special supplies to make real crafts.  However, this is not true...especially when crafting with children.  They just love to watch something of little use become something "AMAZING"!

So some days when I don't have a real plan, I just start looking in all the places I can think of that might have some extra "supplies" available to me.  For this project I checked out the Crap Closet, the Pantry, the Refrigerator, and the Garage....and after our idea got going, we found a few items out of Clinton's closet.

We came up with a Cheerios box, some worn out/outgrown clothes, and a milk jug.  And we were off...

We started out with our milk jug.  We cleaned it and looked for a way to make it more of a monster color.  Wanting to steer clear of any large messes, I opted for an easier way to paint...from within.  I had some leftover interior paint that was a chartreuse color.  I poured it into the milk jug, screwed the cap back on, and let Clinton roll and shake the jug until it was all painted on the inside.  (We added as needed and I had to help at the end to make sure we got it all.)  With the lid still screwed on, I let Clinton paint the circles black on the outside.

The cap then came off and the jug had to drain and dry.  I punched the bottom out of a styrofoam cup and let it drain into a paper bowl.  This process takes a LONG time.  Painting it on the outside makes for a quicker dry time.  Not letting the paint on the inside dry and putting the lid back on will cause the paint to streak and run back down to the bottom because it won't dry.

While our head was drying, we got to work on the body.  We started by using the Cheerios box as a torso.  I situated the adjustable waist band to fit the box.  First, we put on the pants.

...then the shirt.

Next we got busy stuffing the legs and arms with plastic bags we found in our crap closet.

At this point we were far enough into our day that Clinton needed an intermission.  I was glad to offer it to him.

While Clinton was out, I got to work a few pieces to the project.  (I'm okay with the kids not tending to EVERY. SINGLE. DETAIL.)  So, I found some scrap fabrics and fabric glue and put together a mouth...

...I found a packet of foam letters.  I was able to use different pieces of these for eyes and a nose.  This was just a matter of being creative with what I had...

...and I also found some leftover scrapbook paper from an earlier project.  I used a piece of this to cut out a "hair piece" for our monster.

When Clinton woke up, he got busy gluing all his face pieces on.  We used Elmer's glue for the eyes and mouth.  The "x" nose was self-adhesive.  And I hot glued the hair piece on.  Clinton was really starting to love it at this point...  (You might notice we assembled ours with the jug upside down.  This was for the purposes of assembly when attaching the head to the torso.)

When it came time for final assembly, I used my glue gun and glued the jug head down into the Cheerios box.  Our body was all put together, so we carefully carried it out to the front porch.  I then safety pinned the shoes to the bottom of the pants and squished the shoes in between the bars of the rocking chair.

Clinton LOVES his monster.  He likes that he made something that scares everyone as they pass by!

Oh, and YES...we also had another helper.  Miss Heidi Sage likes to be in the middle of everything!

NOW...See what you can come up with at your house.  Try using supplies you find around your house.  Reusing items for new purposes is one of the most fun ways to recycle! :-)  Post your pics on our FB wall so we can all see what you've been up to.

Reducing, reusing, recycling...