Lion Craft

A couple of weeks ago, I made this craft with my 2 & 3 yr old preschool class!  They loved making their lions, but it was a lot of work!  I have had several people request how this was made, so here is a step by step of how I made my lion!

First off, let me give credit where credit is due, I adapted this craft from Danielle's Place.  

http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/lioncrafts.html

You will find her instructions there.  Mine are similar, but quite a bit different because I wanted mine to stand on its own.

For each lion you will need:
1 piece brown construction paper
1 paper plate
1 paper or styrofoam bowl
Brown, Orange & Black paint (I used tempera you could use brown spray paint if you use paper bowls).
Thick White paper 
Black and red markers
Regular glue 
Tacky glue (thick craft glue)
Paper clips

To start, on brown paper, trace around the paper plate. And cut it out. With the scraps, draw a tail in a curvy "L" shape.

Cut out a tear drop for the tip of the tail, and 2  "D" shapes for ears. You could also cut out 2 half circles for paws if you want the kids to glue more.

On the white paper, trace around the bottom of the bowl. This will be your face. With the markers, draw and color it in.  I originally drew the nose with a pencil and then traced with marker.

If mass producing these lions on a short time period, here's how I would do the next few steps... I would paint and assemble them on my own. Then I would let the kids glue the face, tail pieces, ears, and paws on. That way you don't have to wait. For paint & glue to dry. If you let them do the painting and gluing, it's easily a 3 day project bc of dry times.

First, paint the outside of your bowl and paper plate brown. Paint your brown circle and your tear drop orange. I used a dry brush because you can see the brush strokes and they look like hair. 

Once everything is dry, cut your paper plate in half.  Cut all around your brownish orange circle to make the mane stick out! Using the tacky glue, glue around the lip of the bowl and put it in the middle of the orange mane. I placed a heavy children's book on top of the bowl so it would dry firmly glued to the construction paper.  Also using the tacky glue, glue around the lip of the plates and attach them together. I used paper clips to hold the plate together and stuck a 1 1/2 inch section of a toilet paper tube in there for stability and shape.  I did not glue the tube.

After everything is completely dried, remove the paper clips and put tacky glue on the plate, toward the top, and around the bottom part of the mane where the lip of the bowl is. Press the mane/bowl against the plate and hold it there as well as you can. You want the bowl connected to the plate, not just the paper around the bowl do its neck won't flop! :) I taped a piece in the middle to help hold it until it dried. Then I pinched both sides of the bowl and plate for a couple minutes until it set.

The let it dry completely.  Once everything is completely dry, glue the face, ears, paws, and tail pieces on.  You can use a bit of black paint and add little lines for eyes and paint the paws I you did not glue them.  If your lion is having difficulty standing, trim the bottom of your plate until it will stand the way you want.  I found the little tp tube helped balance the lions a little, but it is very important the plates are level and smooth along the bottom.  

Congratulations! Your lion should be completed!  As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them!

He Never Disappoints

Recently, I was disappointed.  I wasn't disappointed in myself, although that happens quite often, but I was disappointed when something didn't turn out the way I thought it should.  That got me to thinking.  


I started thinking about all of the things that have disappointed me.  Usually it's something I have done or said that disappoints myself.  I know better, but I do or say it anyway.  It's disappointing because I know I am better than whatever I did or said.  Therefor, I disappoint myself.  Sometimes it's my job, or my friends.  Sometimes it's my husband, or a certain situation.  Whatever or whoever does the disappointing, it never feels good.


My mind usually doesn't stay in the same place for too awfully long.  I have all kinds of thoughts just racing around in there.  It's unusual if there isn't a million ideas trying to come out at once.  So after I thought about the things that disappoint me, I tried to think of things that do not disappoint me.  The one and only think I could think of was a given, but I never really realized it is the ONLY thing that doesn't disappoint.  Kids, relationships, the Church, jobs, books, and movies, they all can disappoint you.  I could only come up with one thing that cannot and will not disappoint you. If you haven't figured it out, I'll make it easy: God.  


God never disappoints.  God NEVER disappoints.  That idea is so calming.  God never disappoints.  Even now, thinking about how perfectly true this is, I get a smile on my face.  No matter what is going on in my life or in the world around me, God will never disappoint me.  No matter how many problems are thrown in my path or how much I am hurt, God will never disappoint me.  


In the darkest times, He's there lighting my way.  In the happy times, He's there rejoicing with me.  In the sad times, He wipes the tears away.  He is always there to help me through whatever the situation.  He never disappoints.  In Him, there is no evil.  He doesn't cause the bad things to happen.  He never disappoints.  Disappointment comes from some inadequacy, or failure.  He is perfect, never failing, all knowing, all powerful.  God will never disappoint.