3D Elephant Craft for World Elephant Day

World Elephant Day

This is a 3D Elephant Craft for World Elephant Day. August 12^th is World Elephant Day for those of us that didn't know before now. 

First this is a fun craft, secondly it provides an opportunity to increase awareness about the need to protect the elephant species. 

Elephant Craft Video- prefer to watch a video?

Elephant Abstractions

The craft uses a milk jug and tissue paper to make a cute, abstract elephant.

I just love elephants. They are so large and so unusual…who isn’t intrigued by how they use their trunks? Check out a fun list of elephant facts at the end of this post.

Recycled milk jug!

This craft uses a plastic milk jug as a base with the handle being the trunk! You can use any size milk jug, but I find it works best with the half gallon size. The one-gallon size doesn’t stand well on its legs unless you glue popsicle sticks inside the legs. You’ll see what I mean later.

So, an extra perk is we get to use a recycled milk jug!

How Do I create a 3D Elephant Craft?

The milk jug needs to be cut into a shape that looks like an elephant. This takes a bit of figuring. Draw the shape on the milk jug with a marker. The handle is the trunk, and the lid is the top of the head. So, draw a leg on either side of the handle (below the handle). Then draw two back legs and a semi-circle between each leg to look like the belly area of the elephant. Be patient with this, this takes a bit of thinking!! 

Tip: Watch the video so see how to draw the legs.

With the lines drawn, use some scissors to cut on the line you drew. Even out the length of the legs so the elephant stands level.

Elephant art and craft- colorful tissue paper

Take out your tissue paper of various colors. You can purchase packs of variegated tissue paper. They are so handy to have for both crafts and for gift giving.

Cut off a couple one-inch strips from the end of the papers and then cut them into pieces. Let the pieces fall into a bowl so they don’t go everywhere!

Put some glue into a small container. Use an old paint brush and apply some glue onto an area of the milk jug. Place pieces of the tissue paper onto the glued area and then brush glue over the tissue paper as well. This will dry clear and hold the paper in place. 

Continue this process till the entire surface of the milk jug is covered. Tuck the extra paper on the edges underneath and glue in place. You don’t need to cover the inside of the milk jug.

Let the glue dry and then glue two googly eyes on the elephant, one on each side of the handle (trunk). 

Toot- toot! You have a 3D Elephant Craft for World Elephant Day!!

Fun elephant facts:

• Elephants are the largest land animal in the world
• There are two main species, and you can tell them apart from their ears. Both are threatened species. That is the reason for World Elephant Day- to bring awareness to this problem and to help preserve the species.
• An elephant trunk has about 150,000 muscles- wow!
• Their tusks are actual teeth, and they keep growing through their whole lives. Not all elephants have tusks.
• An elephant pregnancy is 22 months long. That’s almost two years if you hadn’t noticed.
• A relatable fact- elephants are always eating. They eat about 300 pounds of plants every day. Whew!
• My personal favorite- they have thick skin (which my mom always told me I should have!)

Wanting another tissue paper or torn paper craft?

• Simple Decoupage Stained Glass Candle Holder
• DIY Stained Glass Card
• Easy Beginner Decoupage Ideas
• Torn Paper Mosaic Art

Enjoy!

If you try this craft, let me know! Go ahead and leave a comment, rate it, and tag a photo with #WelcometoNanas wherever you post.

Come join the fun at https://welcometonanas.com

Supplies for 3D Elephant Craft for World Elephant Day:

• Milk jug (I prefer ½ gallon size)
• Tissue paper of various colors
• Googly eyes
• School glue or ModPodge
• Paint brush
• Permanent Marker
• Scissors