Ladybugs tinker with children - instructions with template

• Paper Ladybug
• From fingerprints
• Gypsum Ladybug
• Ladybug with legs

Ladybugs revive spring with their beautiful colors. No wonder they are among the most popular insects and are even considered lucky charms. In any case, it's great fun to make cute ladybugs in the flowering season. We present you five variants, each of which requires different materials and are all suitable for creative work with children!

There is hardly anyone who does not love them: the sweet ladybug with the many points. How great it feels when the little insect crawls over his own arm. And how nice it is when, after a moment, he opens his wings and shortly after starts his new journey through the colorful nature. The enchanting insects can not only be enjoyed outside, but also tinker themselves. So that you can design your creations together with your children, we have compiled five instructions for you and your offspring, which are easy to implement for kindergarten and younger schoolchildren with their help. So let's get started!

Paper Ladybug

Make ladybugs out of paper

The material of the materials when it comes to children's craftsmanship is still paper. In this respect, a corresponding guide to the creation of pretty ladybugs must not be missing. Fold a bit, paint and glue - and you'll see great colorful beetles in front of you.

You need this:

• square paper (various colors, side length 15 cm)
• round glass
• scissors
• adhesive
• pencil
• black felt-tip pen
• black pipe cleaners
• Wackelaugen

Manual:

Step 1: Pick up a square of paper and fold the horizontal center line. Open the paper again and then fold the vertical center line. Then open the paper again.

Step 2: Turn the sheet over on the back and fold the two diagonal centerlines.

Step 3: Slide the paper together to form a triangle consisting of two double layers. Take a look at our pictures.

Step 4: Lay the triangle with the point facing you. In the (lower) area of ​​the tip, draw a circle with black felt-tip pen, which protrudes slightly beyond the edge on the left and right. Again, we recommend that you take a close look at our pictures.

Tip: To draw the circle, it is best to use a round, sized glass as the "template".

Step 5: Cut out the just drawn circle. Then you should see a piece of paper that looks like this. This piece of paper forms the body of your ladybird.

Step 6: Now paint the beetle's body with a black marker - head and points of course.

Step 7: Then attach the wobbly eyes to the head. In the craft shop, there are also self-adhesive eyes to buy.

Step 8: Then cut three equal pieces of pipe cleaner. These should look out at the edge of the ladybug. Stick the legs on the back with enough craft glue or hot glue.

Difficulty: medium (through step 6)
Time required: medium
Cost: low
Recommended age: from about 7 years

From fingerprints

Ladybugs made of fingerprints

Here comes a craft idea with paper. In this variant, you and your children practice the art of finger painting. In no time a pretty picture with many ladybugs is created. The finished work can be framed and hung up.

You need this:

• white or colored paper
• red finger paint and brush
• black felt-tip pen

How to proceed:

Step 1: Dip your fingers in red finger paint or paint with a brush and then make fingerprints on a piece of white or colored paper.

Tip: You can achieve a particularly nice result with green paper that symbolizes grass. On white paper, the red dots are very beautiful.

2nd step: let it dry.

Step 3: Using a black felt-tip pen, paint the head, the antennae, the dividing line of the wings, the points and the feet of the beetle. Finished!

Difficulty: very easy
Time required: very low
Cost: low
Recommended age: from about 5 years

Gypsum Ladybug

Make ladybugs out of Toffifee packaging

The most beautiful (and in every way sweetest) variation for you and your children to make ladybugs, we have reserved for the end. Learn how chocolate treats turn into beautiful insects!

You need this:

• 1 empty pack of Toffifee
• mineral casting compound, gypsum
• red and black acrylic paint
• brush
• Mini-Wiggle Eyes (4 mm)
• PVA glue

Manual:

Step 1: Have a snack together with your children on all Toffifees and then have an empty pack for crafting. That's fun, is not it? "

Step 2: Create body blanks from casting material for your ladybirds. For this purpose, first stir the mineral casting compound according to the manufacturer's instructions and pour it into the wells of the Toffifee packing.

Tip: As a rule, the composition for the casting compound is "three parts casting compound plus one part water". For 24 ladybirds in a pack, 200 g of plaster are enough.

Step 3: Allow the whole to cure until the body blanks are firm and then carefully push the latter out of the mold.

Step 4: Pick up a blank and paint it completely with red acrylic paint - with the help of a brush.

5th step: let it dry.

Step 6: Now work the black elements - ie the front third of the body, the middle line and the great points - with appropriate acrylic paint.

Tip: As an alternative to the acrylic paints, you can also use finger paints or (slightly diluted) colors from the ink fountain.

Step 7: Glue the mini-Wiggle eyes on the front, black painted area. Finished!

Tip: As an alternative - go for a walk and collect stones along the way. After you have thoroughly cleaned the stones, you can paint them in the same way and turn them into ladybirds.

The small round beetles look especially cute without feet. Of course, you can also tinker feet of paper and stick to the bottom. Of course, you can make other ladybugs from the remaining body blanks on the same principle.

Difficulty: medium
Time required: medium
Cost: medium
Recommended age: from about 10 years

Ladybug with legs

This ladybug can really be brought to life. With his own fingers he can be made to fidget and dance. We wish you a lot of fun in the aftermarket.

You need this:

• Clay board in black and red
• scissors
• compasses
• Wackelaugen
• black pipe cleaner
• black pencil or black acrylic paint (brush)
• PVA glue

Step 1: Use the compass to draw two circles on the black board. One circle should be slightly smaller than the other. Here the circles have a radius of 5 cm and 6 cm. Cut the two circles carefully.

Step 2: Then draw a circle on the red construction paper with the compass. This should have the same radius as the big circle from step 1 - ie 6 cm. Cut out the circle as well.

Step 3: Now take the black, larger paper circle to hand. At the bottom, draw two equal circles, with a radius of 1.5 cm. Then use the tip of the compass to punch a hole in each of the centers. There you can now set the scissors and cut both circles carefully.

Important: The circles must not touch each other and should be at least 1 cm apart.

Step 4: Now the items are put together. Cut the red circle into two equal halves. Stick the red wing halves sideways on the big, black circle. Then glue the smaller, black circle on this and the two wing halves - just opposite the two holes. The ladybug should now look like this:

Step 5: Now the ladybug is decorated. Stick the wobbly eyes on it. Attach two pieces of pipe cleaners to the top of the head as probes and paint black dots on the wings with a pencil or acrylic paint. Finished!

Now the ladybug can be brought to life. Put your index finger and middle finger in the two holes and he starts to dance.

Difficulty level: easy
Time expenditure: little
Cost: low
Recommended age: from about 4-5 years

You can also vary the colors. After all, nowhere is it written that you can not make your beetles imaginative in different shades than the usual. Incidentally, this does not only apply to the "Toffifee ladybugs", but to all variants of this DIY guide. We hope you enjoy experimenting!