Posable Spoon Elvis (Jailhouse Rock Era)

As promised in my Cardboard Tube Elvis tutorial, I made a Young Elvis craft for you. Specifically, it is a Posable Spoon Elvis from Jailhouse Rock. 

I watched the Jailhouse Rock video about a thousand times for inspiration. It's one of my all-time favorite dance routines. Did you know that Elvis choreographed this himself? 

Are you inspired to make your own Posable Spoon Elvis? Affiliate links below. 

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Posable Spoon Elvis

Materials:

• plastic spoon
• gesso
• Folk Art paint (Light Flesh)
• black Sharpie
• microtip scissors
• felt (black and white)
• black pipe cleaner
• craft glue
• flesh tone construction paper

Steps:

Paint a thin coat of gesso on the spoon. (This will allow the paint to stick without peeling off.) When it is dry, paint the face and neck with Light Flesh. Set it aside to dry completely. 

Cut out the clothes from felt. You'll need a white rectangle for the shirt, two black sleeves, two black jacket panels, and a pair of pants. 

Use the Sharpie to draw horizontal stripes on the white shirt. 

Cut two lengths of black pipe cleaner that are just shorter than the sleeves. Bend the remaining pipe cleaner in half. It will be for the pants. 

Use the Sharpie to draw hair and facial features. Remember that the real Elvis' face is not shaped like a spoon, so cut yourself some slack if your version doesn't quite look like the King. 

Use a strong craft glue to attach the pipe cleaners to the sleeves and the pant legs. Glue the sleeves and other jacket pieces to the shirt. Set the clothes aside to dry. 

Use the scissors to cut construction paper hands, shoes, and uniform number for the jacket. Glue them in place. Fun fact: In the movie, Elvis' character wears #6239 on his uniform while in prison, but it changes to #6240 once he's out.

Glue the jacket and the pants to the handle of the spoon. When everything is completely dry, you can pose Elvis' arms and legs to mimic your favorite of his dance moves.

Not an Elvis fan? You can follow the same steps to create anyone you want! By changing the skin tone, hair color, and clothes, you can make your own action figure of a celebrity, historical figure, or family member. Give it a try!

Lollipop Snowman Spoon Craft

'Tis the season for snowmen! Not actual ones, as it's 60°F here in northern California. Snowman crafts. In this case, a spoon turned into a snowman.

He's hiding a lollipop. 

These make fun present toppers and they're really easy to do. There are affiliate links in materials list below; I will receive a small commission on any purchases you make, at no extra cost to you. 

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Lollipop Snowman Spoon Craft

Materials: 

• plastic spoon
• black Enamel Accents
• construction paper - black, red, green, and orange
• microtip scissors
• Orange Stickles
• craft glue
• striped pipe cleaner
• lollipop
• wire snippers

Steps:

Squeeze two dots of Enamel Accents onto the spoon to make the eyes. Add five dots for the mouth, starting with the center dot to help with spacing. (If you stop at this point, you have a ghost!)

Enamel Accents is self-leveling and creates perfect little dots. It dries pretty quickly and stays on well. I don't use Enamel Accents often, but when I do I always remember right away why I love it. 

Cut a triangle of orange paper for the nose. Add a coat of Stickles for sparkle. This is optional, of course, but it makes it look so much better. Set it aside to dry. 

While the Enamel Accents and Stickles dry, make the snowman's hat. For the hat, you need a black square, a red rectangle, a black rectangle, and a tiny holly leaf. Microtip scissors come in handy. I cut two leaves and wasn't happy with the one on the right, so I just used one on the snowman. (BTW, I took a photo of all the materials, but not one of just the hat supplies. Sorry.) 

Glue the hat pieces together, then trim the brim if needed. Glue the hat and the nose to the spoon. When those are dry, twist the pipe cleaner tightly around the spoon and the lollipop, then arrange the ends to look like a scarf. Trim any excess with wire snippers. (Do not use scissors on pipe cleaners, unless you like replacing scissors frequently.)

Hurray for snowman season!

Build Your Own Catapult

My next Little Passports writing assignment was about homemade catapults. Right up Trevor's alley!

Materials: 

plastic spoon, tongue depressor, cork, 2 rubber bands and pom poms

Use the rubber bands to connect the spoon to the tongue depressor. Slide the cork under the neck of the spoon. Put a pom pom in the bowl of the spoon and you're ready to go!

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention some important safety considerations. Never point a catapult at people or animals. Launch soft items, such as pom poms, cotton balls, or marshmallows. Choose a clear area, such as the backyard, where nothing will be broken or damaged. 

Trevor experimented with several different methods of launching pom poms, starting with the catapult on the ground. 

He discovered he improved his accuracy by holding the catapult upright. 

There are so many ways to use this catapult for family fun! Set up hoops or buckets with points for each pom pom that lands inside. Use the catapult and pom poms in place of bocce balls. Draw chalk targets on the garage door and try to storm the castle. What other games can you dream up?

Bunny-Themed Cocoa Kit (Bunny Week, Day 4)

It's Day 4 of Bunny Week!

Trouble loves to watch our art projects. Whenever possible, he's right there with the action. Of course, we supervise carefully to make sure he doesn't eat anything inappropriate or do anything else dangerous. He's always very interested in sniffing our egg dye. He's never spilled it, thankfully.

I did today's project while Trouble was napping in his pear box, far away from the not-safe-for-rabbits materials. It's a cocoa kit!

Materials: white mug, plastic spoons, white Candy Melts, pink sprinkles, cocoa mix, bag and twist tie, mini marshmallows, plastic wrap, googly eyes, pink craft foam, wire, and Glue Dots.

Start by melting Candy Melts and dipping the spoons into them. Immediately add pink sprinkles, then set them aside to harden.

Pour about five servings of your cocoa mix into a food-safe decorative bag and twist it securely. 

Nestle the cocoa in the bottom of the mug. Wrap a bunch of marshmallows in plastic wrap, then place them on top of the cocoa. 

Next, cut a bunny nose and mouth out of pink craft foam. Cut wire to whisker length. Use Glue Dots to attach all the facial features to the bunny. (These materials are designed to be easily removed before using the mug. If you want a permanent design on the mug, use markers designed for ceramics and follow the manufacturer instructions for baking the mug to set the colors.)

When the candy spoons are completely set, wrap them with plastic wrap, then nestle them into the mug. Use loose marshmallows to provide support if necessary.

The lucky recipient can enjoy hot cocoa with mini marshmallows, a candy spoon, or both!