Cardboard Otters

Hey friends! It's been a minute. The warmer weather has shifted our schedule into more outdoor activities. The garden has taken much of my time; an effort I truly love. The peonies are blooming and the scent is intoxicating! I've got the veggie babies all tucked into the vegetable garden. Things are settling into a summer schedule. Time opened up recently during a stint of rainy weather. Naturally, I grabbed the cardboard! Read on to learn about these very generous and very snuggle otters.

These lil guys were so fun to make! They do take some doing. I recommend these for ages 9 and up. The littler people in your life will enjoy picking flowers to place in the otters paws. They would make a lovely Father's day gift! Perhaps there is a friend's birthday coming up? Surely, these fellas would be well received.

Gather:

Cardboard

Pencil

Scissors

Black Sharpie or paint pen

White Paint pen

White cardstock

White ribbon or yarn

Hole punch

White glue

Create:

1 Draw an otter shape on the printed side (backside of your otter). Draw a circle for the head and an oval for the body. Add two half circles on the head for the ears and a tail from the oval.

2. Cut out the otter.

3. Lay the otter on your white cardstock. Trace around the otter's body to create a template for the otter's arms and legs. Draw two elongated half circles of the arms and two smaller elongated half circles for the legs. Cut out your template.

4. Trace your template on cardboard. Cut out the pieces.

5. Punch holes in the arms, towards the middle. Glue on arms and legs.

**That left arm is backwards, BTW. Photo malfunction**

6. Use your black pen or marker to fill in the pads on the bottom of the feet, the "toes" of the front legs and the ears.

7. Add white markings with your paint pen.

8. Trace and cut out the muzzle from your cardstock.

9. Cut a 4 inch long by 1 inch in width piece of cardstock. Fold it in half, lengthwise. Cut thin strips towards the center. Do not cut all the way through. These are your whiskers!

10. Cut out a nose and eyes from cardboard.

11. Cut the long whisker paper into two parts. Glue on the whiskers to the muzzle. Glue the muzzle to on the otter's face.

12. Use the sharpie to color the otter's nose and eyes black. Add white dots to create dimension in the eyes. Glue onto the otter's face.

Now add a little black line on the muzzle and a mouth below! Finally, add your ribbon, tie and tuck your beautiful flower inside. Gift this lovely fella to your favorite person...Cause they OTTER know how much you love them. :)