Alien Spaceship Ornaments

Thanks to Nancy for suggesting making alien spaceships with all of my left over Jello cups.  I think these came out pretty cute and it's a great way to reuse what would otherwise be trash.  This can either be a toy or an ornament.  I'm sure this spaceship can hold up to a few rounds Buzz Lightyear saving the universe from the creepy aliens.

Age: 3+
Time: 20 minutes
Mess/Cleanup: Little mess and very easy cleanup.  Only a few stryrofoam scraps.
What You Need:

• 1 large pom-pom
• 2 small pom-poms
• 3 googly eyes
• 1 toothpick
• 1 Jello cup
• 6 inches of string
• Foil tape (you can buy this in the HVAC/Duct Tape section at Lowes or Home Depot) or tin foil
• Styrofoam or cardboard
• Scissors
• Glue
• Self-adhesive gemstones.  I have these from Oriental Trading

Substitutions:

• Old CD or DVD instead of styrofoam and foil tape.  I think this would make a pretty cool flying saucer.
• Instead of pom-pom alien, used a little action figure (that you're little one no longer plays with)
• Use mini pom-poms or self-adhesive stickers instead of gems
• Paperclip instead of ribbon, string, or yarn for the hanger

Why I Like This Craft:
My son is facinated with rocketships and Buzz Lightyear, so this craft was right up his ally!  I imagine we could make an entire army of alien spaceships.

 

Step 1:
Place Jello cup upside down on styrofoam.  Cut larger circle (about 2 inches larger than the pudding cup) out of the styrofoam.

Step 2:
Cut strips of foil tape about the diameter of the styrofoam circle.  If you do not have foil tape, you can cover the styrofoam with tin foil.  Have your little one peel the backing (great for perfecting fine motor skills) off the tape and adhere to the styrofoam.  Cover both sides of styrofoam.

 

Step 3:
Place gems around the perimeter of the foil-covered circle.

 

Step 4: Build-An-Alien
Using large pom-pom, glue on eyes.  We first used a glue stick, but found that Tacky glue works much better.

Step 5:
Snip toothpick in half.  Put a dab of glue on each end.  On each stick, place a small pom-pom on one end and adhere the other end to the alien head (see Step 4).  Place alien body in center of foil circle.

 

Step 6:
Poke hole in bottom of cup.  Thread and tie off string.  This will be the hanger if you are creating an ornament.  Place a bead of glue around the top of cup.  Invert cup and place over the alien.  Let dry.

 

 

That's it!  And, if you are using this as a tree ornament it might be cool to poke hole in the bottom of the spaceship under the alien.  Then insert a tree light to make the alien's spaceship glow.

 

-Rose @-}---

Edited to Add:
This morning while I was checking my Facebook, my son runs into the living room with his new alien spaceship - well, he made his alien and plopped him in a cup.  He must really like this craft!  He made most of it himself.  His variation:

• Instead of gems, he used self-adhesive glittery stars
• Instead of the styrofoam we used a CD.
• Instead of a a yarn hanger, we used a paperclip.