My grandson loves animals and spending time at our local zoo. He tells us that he wants to be a vet or zookeeper when he grows up. I think the love for animals teach our children to valuable life lessons. They learn responsibility, love, sharing, caring, etc.
One of his favorite animals is the African Elephant. He’s impressed with their size and how they use their trunks. He thinks baby elephants are the cutest things on the planet. For some reason, he thinks all babies are baby boys!
Last weekend we worked on a new craft project using seashells to make some of his favorite animals that he sees at the zoo. First animal that he selected was the elephant. After we painted and constructed our cutie we turned him into a refrigerator magnet. He uses it to display his artwork from school on the front of the refrigerator at his house. He’s so proud!
Kid’s Crafts: Elephant Seashell Refrigerator Magnets
1 Scallop Shell
1 Atlantic Slipper Shell
2 Small Clam Shells
Silver Metallic Acrylic Paint
Paint Brush, Water Dish, Paper Towels
Black Acrylic Paint Pen
White Acrylic Paint Pen
Hot Glue Gun with Glue Sticks
Magnetic Disk
Note: An adult will need to use the hot glue gun to glue the seashells together once they’ve been painted. Regular school glue is NOT strong enough for this project.
Paint all seashells with 2 coats of silver metallic acrylic paint. We only painted the outside on each shell. Let them dry for 60-90 minutes. Glue the Atlantic Slipper Shell (as shown in the photo) to serve as the trunk. Glue the two small Clam Shells onto the Scallop Shell to serve as the ears. Let dry for 5 minutes or until the glue has bonded and cooled.
Shake paint pens thoroughly before using. Use the black paint pen to dot on 2 eyes. Let dry for 15 minutes. Use the white paint pen to dot on the inner portion of the eyes. Use the white paint pen to add two tusks, one on each side of the trunk. Let dry for 1 hour.
Flip your elephant over and glue on your magnet disk. We like to use commercial grade magnets so that they’re strong enough to hold up photographs and the kid’s artwork on the refrigerator. We buy them from Amazon at a really affordable price.
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This is so cute. The photo makes me laugh and I would love to try it.
This is so darling and would make a great magnet for the fridge. Nice way for kids to be creative and learn about animals. So neat that your grandson likes animals.
How cute! I wondered where you found a shell that could be the trunk. I admit, I had never heard of an Atlantic slipper shell.
Such a cute and fun craft. My daughter loved doing projects like this when she was young.
That picture made me laugh out loud and scare the cat. Very fun craft.