DLTK's Halloween Crafts for Kids:
Straw Blowing Craft - Spider
This is a fun spider craft with a printable template of the web. It uses the popular straw blowing technique to create free form spiders!
Materials:
- printer paper (I used parchment colored printer paper, but you can use white)
- drinking straw (I use a reusable metal straw but any straw will do. The thinner your straw, the thinner your blown lines will be)
- googly eyes
- black paint (liquid water color, tempera and acrylic all work fine)
- water
- craft cup or jar for mixing (glass cup/jar dedicated to crafting or a plastic cup. I use an old jam jar)
Craft Instructions:
- Print out the spider web template or draw your own spider web with black sharpie.
- Put a bit of black paint into your jar. If you use old jam jars, you can put a lid on them and use the left over for future craft projects.
- Put about twice the same amount of water into your jar. Stir it up (I just use the straw to stir)
- You can test the consistency on a separate piece of paper.
- Adjust the water to paint ratio until you get the consistency you like. I
- It should be loose enough to blow easily, but not so loose that it runs off the paper.
- I like it a little thicker than coffee but a bit thinner than hot chocolate.
- You can use an eye dropper but I just, again... use my straw! Dip the end of your straw into the paint and put your finger on the end. That should seal a bit of paint in the straw.
- if the children have never sealed liquid in a straw with their finger, have them practice with water until they get the knack of it!
- Hold your sealed paint straw over your spider web and release your finger. That should drop a little puddle of paint onto your page. If the paint doesn't fall out easily, it's too thick and needs a bit more water.
- Gently blow the clean end of your straw at the blob. The air from your breath will blow the paint. You can change directions and move your paper around to create the shape that you like. Each blown blob will be unique!
- Repeat to make as many spiders as you like. You can make one big spider sitting in the middle or a few spiders scattered around the web.
- Let dry.
- While it is drying, wash your reusable straw thoroughly. Try not to let the paint dry -- if it does, you might want that straw to be just for crafting.
- Once dry, glue wiggly eyes onto the spiders!
Templates:
- After printing, close the template window to return to the main page.
- If the template doesn’t fit on one page, adjust your printer margins:
• In most browsers: Print → More settings → Margins → Minimum
• Or use Page Setup / Printer Setup in your printer dialog
Spider Web Template
Printable version of these instructions
