It’s all about space this month on Capturing Parenthood, and we couldn’t be more excited! On Tuesday, we shared our very own DIY Cardboard Rocket Ship. We’ve been having a blast rocketing around outer space in our man-made vessel, but we were getting a bit lonely out there in the Milky Way Galaxy. We needed some company. So…we decided to make a Flying Saucer Craft!
Well…flying saucers piloted by adorable aliens…to be exact. π This cute and creative craft has added lots of color (and adventure) to our recent space explorations! It’s a lot more fun to travel through the solar system with a couple of insightful friends. These little guys have been shooting through space for centuries – they know all the ins and outs – and they’re more than happy to share their wealth of space knowledge.
Did you know that Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system? You would think that it would be Mercury…since it’s closer to the sun. But Venus is covered in thick clouds that hold the heat in. Did you know that the Great Red Spot on Jupiter is wider than three Earths? Did you know that Uranus is tipped onto its side and that it spins in the opposite direction as Earth? And did you know that the wind on Neptune can blow more than a thousand miles an hour?
We’ve been learning all sorts of interesting facts about space and our solar system. Perhaps you would like to craft some alien-driven flying saucers to help guide you and your little ones around the galaxy?!?
Flying Saucer Craft
Supplies:
- Paper Bowls
- Kwik Stix Tempera Paint Sticks
- Mini Poms
- Hot Glue Gun
- Cardboard Tube (empty toilet paper roll)
- White Construction Paper or Card Stock
- Black Marker
- Pipe Cleaners
- Scissors
- Small Plastic Cup (Clear)
- Yarn/String
Instructions:
- Start by painting two paper bowls with the Kwik Stix paint sticks – in whatever colors or designs your heart desires.
- Using a hot glue gun, carefully glue the two painted paper bowls together, along the outer rims. Note: Hot glue guns can get extremely hot and can cause serious burns. We recommend that an adult be in charge of the hot glue gun, or that the hot glue gun be used with adult supervision.Β
- Select a handful of colorful mini poms that you would like to use to decorate the upper rim of your flying saucer. Glue the poms onto the rim, using the hot glue gun. Set your flying saucer aside.
- Now, it’s time to craft an alien to man your flying saucer! Cut a cardboard tube into a 1″-2″ section. Color the cardboard tube with the tempera paint sticks.
- Decide how many eyeballs you would like your alien to have (we went with three). Cut the appropriate number of small circles from the white construction paper or card stock, and add pupils with the black marker.
- We wanted some of our alien’s eyeballs to stick up…so we cut some small pieces of pipe cleaner and hot glued them to the inside of the cardboard tube. We then hot-glued one (or two) paper eyeballs onto the top of the pipe cleaners. Just make sure that your eyeballs/pipe cleaners do not stick up too far…the clear plastic cup needs to fit down over the top of them.
- Your alien still needs a mouth…go ahead and add one with the black marker.
- Once again, grab the hot glue gun, and carefully glue the bottom of the cardboard tube alien to the top of the flying saucer. Let sit for a few minutes, so that the hot glue can harden completely.
- In the meantime, grab your clear plastic cup and a sharp metal object (nail, mini screwdriver, etc.). You want to use your sharp metal object to poke a hole through the bottom of your plastic cup.
- Slide two ends of a piece of yarn (or string) through the hole in the bottom of the cup. Tie the two pieces together in a knot (on the inside of the cup). You should now be able to hang your cup from the string.
- The final step is to carefully hot glue the clear plastic cup to your flying saucer – over the top of your alien. Let the hot glue harden completely, before hanging your flying saucer up on display!
This flying saucer craft was inspired by the Aliens Love…Flying Saucer Craft for Kids, that I stumbled upon over on Rainy Day Mum! And her craft was inspired by the children’s book Aliens Love Panta Claus, by the dynamic duo of Claire Freedman and Ben Cort!
This cute craft would actually pair well with all of the books in Claire Freedman and Ben Cort’s alien series, including: Aliens Love Underpants, Aliens in Underpants Save the World, and Aliens Love Dinopants! So, if you’re looking for a good laugh and a fun craft…grab a copy of one of these hilarious books…and then create your very own alien spacecraft!
**Note: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links, for convenience. See Disclosure Policy for more details.**
