Shiny Pipe Cleaner Dragonflies

I’m so excited to share today’s craft! These Cardboard Roll Shiny Pipe Cleaner Dragonflies are so easy, I love their big bug eyes, and use only a few supplies. In fact, the name pretty much says it all.

For our Cardboard Roll Shiny Pipe Cleaner Dragonflies, you’ll need to cut up some cardboard rolls in about 1 inch strips. These are otherwise known as toilet paper rolls, but did you know that you can buy clean and non-toilet papered cardboard rolls? That was new to me. Anyway, you will also need shiny pipe cleaners in a variety of colors, a ¼” hole punch, hot glue, and small-medium sized googly eyes. That’s it!

We experimented with a number of different sized googly eyes for our Shiny Pipe Cleaner Dragonflies. Of course, the large eyes are too big, but surprisingly the smallest size didn’t look right, either. The kind that looked best to us were a small-medium size. Not only did they form the head of the dragonfly best, but they were also easiest to stick in place with the hot glue. Your best bet is to grab a pack of assorted sizes and find the size that you like best!

Shiny Pipe Cleaner Dragonflies

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Supplies needed:

• cardboard rolls
• shiny pipe cleaners – assorted colors
• ¼” hole punch
• scissors
• googly eyes

First, cut your cardboard rolls into about 1 inch strips. We were about to get 7 strips out of one roll. You will need 4 strips for each dragonfly.

Flatten one end of each strip and punch a hole on both sides.

Flatten one end of each strip and punch a hole on both sides.

Fold a pipe cleaner in half and thread the ends through the holes in the cardboard strips, leaving a circle on top.

When all 4 strips are threaded through, position 2 sets on each side. Thread one end of pipe cleaner around the strips and back through the hole to secure in place.

Do the same for the other side. Tighten and twist to secure and continue to twist both ends around each other. Twist the top pipe cleaner circle a few times, as well.

Then, apply two drops of hot glue on both sides of the circle and adhere googly eyes.

You can make a whole group of these dragonflies in no time, in all different colors! We were really happy with this craft and I hope you are, too. And be sure to find more summer craft ideas at Our Kid Things!