Paper Cup Octopus

It is not uncommon that after a gathering or a party at home, you find yourself with an abundance of left over paper cups and streamers. Rather than stashing them away for the future (and possibly never finding them again), why not create something new out of them? All the materials for this activity are available at home or can be easily sourced. It is a simple and creative activity which can be done independently by your child or with minimal supervision on your part.

MATERIALS

• Paper cups
• Poster or acrylic paints
• Glue
• Streamers or thin strips of coloured paper
• Thick markers
• Stick – on eyes or buttons
• Other decorations such as glitter
• String or ribbon to hang the decoration

METHOD

• It would be ideal to use plain white paper cups for this activity as they are easy to paint over. Paint each cup the colour of your choice on the outside and keep them aside to dry before continuing.
• Stick buttons or eyes at the appropriate point on the cup. Remember, the cup is the body of the octopus.
• Tear your streamers into thinner strips if they are too fat. Or instead, tear coloured paper into thin strips if you do not have streamers.
• Stick the streamers along the inner lip of the cup using glue, as though you are creating the legs of the octopus.
• Choose a mix of colour – there are no fixed rules here.
• Decorate the body of the octopus using glitter, markers and any other decorations you like.
• If the streamers are thick enough, you can also decorate their edges using beads or stick on sequins.
• Finish the octopus decoration by poking a hole at the top of the cup. Push through a ribbon or a string and knot it on the inside of the cup.
• You can use this string or ribbon to hang up your decoration.