This week we’ve been reading The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr. The story is well-loved in our home. A mischievous tiger arrives, unannounced, to have tea with a little girl called Sophie and her mummy. Tigers are beautiful animals and we wanted to create something to capture the patterns and texture of this majestic animal.
For this Easy Tiger Craft for Kids you will need:
- Tiger Template
- blue card
- contact paper (sticky back plastic)
- orange tissue paper
- black paper or card
- scissors
- pencil
First of all I got Burt to help me tear the orange tissue paper and black card. Tearing paper is a really good activity for building fine motor strength and many children enjoy the thrill of actually being asked to deliberately rip something up. We enjoyed it a little too much and ended up with more strips of orange tissue paper than we really needed. If you are only making one tiger then you only need enough to cover the template but it is difficult to stop a toddler tearing up tissue once you get them started, so only get out as much as you think you will need!
Print your tiger template (you can print one from the list of materials above) and cut it out with your scissors. Then, lay the template on the blue card and draw around it with a pencil. Don’t cut around the tiger shape, instead cut out the middle of your tiger shape so that the tiger shape ends up as a hole in the centre of your blue card.
Take the contact paper (also known as sticky back plastic) and carefully cover one side of your blue card. I find I get the best results if I stick a little bit of the contact paper on the craft table and then smooth the contact paper downwards onto the card. Because it is stuck to the table it doesn’t move around so you can concentrate on not getting a smooth finish on the card.
Once the whole piece of card is covered turn the card over. You will have a tiger-shaped hole in your card which is now sticky from the contact paper. Now you can take all your strips of torn tissue paper and card and stick them to the contact paper (or sticky back plastic).
You want to cover the whole template and don’t worry about being too neat. As you stick make sure that you also press down to make sure the paper is sticking to the contact paper.
Once you are happy that the whole shape is covered, take some more contact paper (or sticky back plastic) and cover the tissue paper and card.
Then turn over the blue card. Burt was really surprised to find that the other side of the card now revealed a beautiful tiger. It is a really easy craft for even young children to get involved with and the finished results are really spectacular. You can stick the tiger on the window and it really shows up the stripes of tissue paper.
You can read more about the story that inspired us The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr or discover some more crafts and activities linked to the book.
Have you been inspired by a book to craft, go on an outing or do an activity this week?
I am very excited as Damson Lane has been shortlisted for a Brilliance in Blogging Award in the Crafts category this year. Thank you to everyone who has visited Damson Lane, joined in with #kidsbookaweek and to everyone who nominated.
If you have a moment please vote for Damson Lane under ‘Crafts’ as I would love to make the finals.
xxx
Wow - what a fab crafting activity for kids - I have no doubt that the tearing up of the paper was the most fun part! I really love the finished tiger and it’s a great way to get things to stick instead of getting messy with glue!
Michelle recently posted…Star Tours at Disney Hollywood Studios | #100DaysOfDisney - Day 4 | Theme Park Thursday
I am impressed, great tiger!! Looks like real fun, paper and sticking always makes for a great craft session. I adore that story.
Jo Bryan recently posted…Freebie Friday 09/05- 15/05
What a brilliant idea! Will have to add sticky back plastic to my list of craft supplies. I think my two would love to do something like this and I suppose it would work with all different types of things.
Mummy of Two recently posted…Tasty treats from Morrisons #MorrisonsMum
That’s a fabulous idea -and so effective!” The Tiger Who Came to Tea” was my favourite book as a child and I still have my copy!
TwinsplusTwo recently posted…Main Meals for Kids
Paper, sticky stuff and a great story …. it is definitely a winner for children!!
Donna recently posted…I have learned ……
I Looooooooooooooove contact paper and this is a super fab craft
Jen aka The Mad House recently posted…#My Happy Place
This is great!! I wish I could hold my sons attention for long enough to do this!
Fab idea! Love that you call Sticky Backed Plastic “Contact Paper”! You know I’m a SBP girl at heart! 😉 x
You are and always will be. This is why I would never have made it on BP x
This craft is great. Sticky back plastic brings back memories of my youth and watching Blue Peter!
Louisa recently posted…Wheel education
Great idea for crafts. I love trying new things like this
Angela Spicer recently posted…Must Have Apps For Blogging
What a brilliant craft. We just love that story - my 3 would absolutely love to have a go at making one of these tigers!
How lovely! The Tiger who came to Tea is a firm favourite with my son. It blows his mind when the tiger drinks all the water from the taps.
Steph ( recently posted…Love Your Leftovers - Red Pepper Pork Pasta
How good are you at this! So imaginative!
So many ideas on your blog, you are so creative x
I am loving seeing all these craft projects. I have to admit I used to love blue peter.
Nayna Kanabar ( recently posted…Spicy Cauliflower Tempura. #Betta Recipe
I love that story and that craft works really well. You are full of great ideas
Nikki Thomas recently posted…What do you do if you have too many books?
Me and my little boy love crafts and have spent a lot of time during the past few weeks carrying out different arts and craft missions! I sadly don’t have the orange paper otherwise this would make a great task for this weekend! I suppose it gives us something to do for next weekend though! xx
Jada Lewendon recently posted…I’m Sorry, You Called Me What?
That tiger looks great. Will have to try something like this with Bee when she is a bit older!
Foz recently posted…The Halal meat debate
Love it. Bookmarked this to do with my animal-mad eldest son.
Donna recently posted…Our family holiday in Egypt
That is a very cute tiger - pinned to my crafting with kids board
Kara recently posted…Saturday is Caption Day - 10th May 2014
Shows you how much I know - I didn’t even know there was such a thing as contact paper! Gorgeous craft as always
That’s brilliant, my girls would love to make one
Shell Louise recently posted…Finally!! - Before and After photos -New Kitchen 😀
oh this is so beautiful. And how lovely as a birthday present to make a card for a child and then do a little goodie bag of the book and bits to do their own crafting.
* makes a note for future reference for friends with younger children *
Mummy Barrow recently posted…#HDYGG — Part II
Love this idea, looks easy enough to make even for someone who’s not particularly crafty xx
Kerry recently posted…Shabby Chic Bedroom
We love this story and the craft is brilliant. Contact paper is so versatile for so many crafts, we are huge fans of it! Pinned.
Jenny recently posted…Gingerbread playdough recipe
That looks awesome Grrrrr
Becky recently posted…Nature Play: 10 cool things kids can do with…stones
I love this idea and it’s great that it’s so flexible - you could do similar around lots of different themes!
Cass recently posted…Siblings - May….
Thank you for sharing. Adore the idea and I will be creating a tiger in the future with Max.
Helen Dickinson recently posted…Max Rates….. May 2014 Holiday Edition
This is really lovely idea and what a beautiful tiger!
Well done!
Even more great tiger activities for my little man to enjoy!
Kizzy recently posted…Who needs Wimbledon?
This is a great idea - thank you for sharing with the Kids Co-op
PinkOddy recently posted…Educational Ideas Round-Up #Kids Co-op
This is such a cool craft activity, F would love this. I can’t wait to try it. It reminds me of a great Elmer the Elephant craft activity. x
Lori recently posted…ALONG THE WATERS EDGE // A DAY IN PICTURES