To kick us off, Froglifer Laura Brady is sharing her secrets for making the best snake based jewellery - a fun activity idea for half term.
Year of the Snake: Make Your Own Grass Snake Bracelet
"This activity is
something we have a done on a number of Froglife events, it’s a great way of
getting new audiences aware of our species, whilst also breaking the myth that
snakes have to be scary.
Most Froglifers in the office know I
have a bit of a crafty side. I really think promoting our work
through other media is great to reach even more people, especially the
younger generations! I hope you enjoy making this bracelet, you can make it
as easy or as difficult as you like, depending on the age group - it would be
great to see what you come up with so do share any pictures on our Facebook page."
You will need:
- Empty toilet paper tube
- Pencil
- White paper
- Scissors
- Felt – in green and yellow and red
- Glue
- Markers
Step One: Start by drawing the snake body onto the outside of a cardboard tube. Make sure
the body angles downwards slightly as you go around the tube and narrow the
body until you reach the tip of the tail.
Step Two: Carefully cut the snake body out and temporarily flatten it out onto a
sheet of white paper. Use a pencil to trace the snake shape then reshape the
cardboard snake back into its natural curled form.
Step Three: Trace the paper snake shape onto felt and cut two shapes out. One felt
piece for the top of the snake and one for the bottom. Glue the top and bottom
felt pieces onto the cardboard snake body.
If you want to
add a snake tongue, sandwich it between the felt and cardboard while gluing
everything together. Reshape the covered cardboard as needed and let the felt
dry.
Add a couple of marker dots for nostrils and eyes and your little friend
is ready to wear!
Photos: Laura Brady
