Love Bugs

Toddler*, Pre-K, K, 6+

***Note: I made mine with my toddler, but I did most of the work. My 6 year old needed a bot of help, but mostly did it alone.***

I know this craft has been done before, but I put a new spin on it. :)

To make this craft you will need:

• Wooden clothespins
• White Glue
• Pom Pom's
• Pipe Cleaners
• Construction paper (optional)
• Googly eyes (optional)
• Magnet strips (optional)

I got my pom poms and clothespins at the Dollar Store. My idea was to alternate between red and pink, but my daughter decided she wanted all sorts of colors. And, then I added in green for my son. So, really let your kids make their own love bugs.

Four small pom poms will fit nicely on the clothespin, but I wanted my bugs to look "fuller" so I squeezed 5 on. If you want your kids to do this alone, tell them 4! You really have to squish and be patient with 5. Spread glue generously over the top of your clothes pin and add the pom poms one by one.

When that dries you can cut a small portion of pipe cleaner and fold it into a "v" shape and glue in between pom poms 1 and 2.

My bugs really need eyes, but I didn't have small googly eyes left, so the next time I head back to the Dollar Store I am going to pick some up and we will finish these little bugs off.

I also added small construction paper hearts to the top of their antennae, and I used magnet strips and glued them to the bottom of the bugs so they could go on the fridge.

These would make great gifts. They just need a note in their pins saying something like "you've been bitten by the love bug." That is still at thought of mine, but right now they are all happy together on the fridge (well, as happy as you can be without eyes :)