Friday, August 1, 2008

Sponge (loofah) Creatures


My son loves these loofah sponges that you use in the shower. When he was younger he loved to play with them. The other day he asked me if we could make one into a rhinoceros. Well we did not make a rhinoceros but we made this cute creature instead.

Here is what you will need: pipe cleaners (chenille stems), net sponges(we call them loofahs) from the dollar store, and googley eyes. You will also need a glue gun and crimping pliers used to make jewerly are helpful but not required.
Thread the pipe cleaner through the netting in a few places so that it does not rip through. Thread the second color close to the first one but in a different spot. Twist the two color together to make the desired legs, arms, or antennae.
Using a hot glue gun, place a dab of glue on the sponge where you want the eyes to be. Carefully place the eye on the glue spot. Use a popsicle stick or other tool to push eye into the glue. This will help you so you don't burn yourself. When you place hot glue on a netted-sponge, it will spread out when doing this because the surface is not completely solid, so be careful.
Add any parts to your sponge that you desire. We added a little mouth with a small piece of pipe cleaner. If you have small loofahs, you can cut the top strings apart and tie several together to make one big creature. We found a few larger sponges at the dollar store that worked really well too. The one we tied together, was so large, we made a face on both sides of it. HELPFUL TIP: After placing the pipe cleaners on, bend the ends down just a bit and press together so the wire does not stick out. I found that using some crimping pliers worked really well to get the wires flat so that they don't poke the kids when they are playing with them. Obviously, this isn't meant to be used in the bathtub or shower. It could be used as a puppet. My son just enjoys playing with them and using his imagination! (He says they look like the "Happy Monster Band" off of the Disney Channel.)





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