Mosaic Turtle Craft for Kids

My girls and I had so much fun creating these adorable turtles over Spring Break. I loved watching my girls get creative as they designed the shells. Bear went for a simple look, but Lu and Boo went design crazy! I hope your family enjoys this cute Mosaic Turtle Craft as much as we did. Who knew turtles could be so much fun?

RELATED: 40+ Projects to Make with Your Kids, 27 Easter Crafts for Kids

This craft can be as simple or as complex as you'd like. (Don't worry about the hexagons or the head, feet, and tail. I have free printables for you, so you don't have to draw those on your own.) If your kids have a long attention span and enjoy painting, let them paint the individual hexagons. If your kids like things quick and easy, print the hexagons on colored card stock and skip the painting step.

Ready to get started? Here we go!

Mosaic Turtle Craft

Materials:

• Paper bowl
• Scissors
• Printable hexagons and turtle parts (optional--you can just draw your own). Free download here
• Elmer's X-Treme School Glue
• Green cardstock (for the turtle's body)
• White cardstock (for the hexagons)
  If you want to skip the painting step, print the hexagons on colored cardstock instead.
• Elmer's Paint Markers (We used Metallic Shimmer, Pretty Pastels, and Bright Colors)
  You could also use crayons, colored pencils, markers, or poster paint.
• Wiggly eyes (optional)

Instructions:

1. Print out the hexagons printable and paint or color the shapes. Depending on how close together you want your mosaic pieces, you will need around 40. (Fewer if you space out your shapes quite a bit.) This was my kids' favorite step. Bear (13) colored hers simply and quickly with solid colors, but Boo (9) and Lu (7) took their time and worked on coloring for hours!
2. Cut out the hexagons. To make the shapes easier for the kids to cut out, first cut the paper into strips of shapes (lines of single hexagons), and then let the kids cut them out.
3. Trim off the lip of the paper bowl.
4. Glue the hexagons to the bowl (beginning at the center of the bowl). I liked to dip the pieces into glue poured onto a plate, but my kids preferred applying the glue with a toothpick.
5. When you get to where the bowl slopes to the sides, after applying the glue, press the shape firmly over the curve with your fingers for a few seconds. The Elmer's X-Treme School glue is much stronger than regular school glue, and it will adhere quite quickly. (Love it!)

6. Print and cut out the turtle body part shapes, or draw and cut out your own.
7. Apply a small bead of glue to the bottom edge of each body part, and glue them to the underside of the bowl. Allow the glue to dry for a few minutes.
8. Flip the bowl right-side-up (shell up) and crimp the body parts by folding them up toward the top of the bowl and them back down. (Or just bend them until you are happy with the way they look.)

9. Add details to your turtle's face, legs and tail. (We used wiggly eyes and paint markers.)

You're all done! Step back and enjoy!

Need more crafts to keep the kids busy over Spring Break or Summer Vacation? Try some of these. (Images below are linked to posts. Click on the image to visit the post.)

Have fun creating!