When I think of summer, I think of the beach, sun & lobsters. Yup – you read that right. LOBSTERS. Mainly because if I lay out in the sun, I turn into a bright red lobster. Therefore, I’m the whitest girl you will ever know ;)

If you have a child who is already getting bored this summer, my suggestion is to invest in some paper plates, paint & Styrofoam cups. {All of which can be found at the Dollar Tree} All three are a cheap craft supply investment & can be used for so many things. Today I’m going to share with you how we took some simple Styrofoam cups & turned them into lobsters. Our lobsters are currently displayed in the living room, but if you are having a beach theme party, these would be great for decorations. Ready to learn how?

First you will want to cover the Styrofoam Cups completely in red paint. This is where your child can have full control.

Let the cups dry completely. While they are drying you can work on the legs & eyes part of the craft.

Like I mentioned in the supply list, you will want eight pipe cleaners for three cups. This will give you six legs & two eyes for each cup.

To get my desired amount, I first folded each pipe cleaner into an “S” shape. Then I cut them on the folded spots.

Once you got them all cut, be sure to sort them in piles so you have the right amount for each cup. Each pile should have eight pieces. {6 legs/2 eyes}

Take two pieces of pipe cleaner from each stack to create the eyes. Lay the large wiggle eyes upside down and put a dollop of hot glue on them. Then stick the pipe cleaner on. Let dry completely.

Now you are ready to stick the legs & eyes in. Going along the bottom edge of each cup, use the metal from the pipe cleaners to press holes into the cup. Space the six pipe cleaners evenly along the bottom. Curl them a bit to give the look of claws. Then on the top of the cup {again using the metal from the pipe cleaner} insert the eyes.

And you are done.

You can bend the pipe cleaners in a fun way to really give them the look of lobsters.And if lobsters aren’t your thing, you could use the same concept but choose a different color to paint the cups. Think blue for monsters or black for spiders. The possibilities are endless & I’m sure your child will have fun created them!