Whether you call them fireflies or lightning bugs, there is something magical about watching the glowing bugs flying in the yard on a warm summer night.
You can capture some of that magic with this cute plastic egg firefly craft.
It’s a fun summer craft that makes a cute nightlight for backyard camping.
Every year, as the school year ends, we make up our summer bucket list.
Along with some new things to try there are some “must do” items that are added to the list each year: campfires, making s’mores, and catching fireflies to name a few.
Firefly Craft
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Materials Needed:
- Plastic Egg
- 4 Chenille Craft Sticks (pipe cleaners)
- Wiggly Eyes
- Duct Tape
- Fine Tip Black Permanent Marker
- Battery Operated Tea Light
- Hot Glue Gun
- Thumbtack
On your plastic egg there should be a half that is a little more pointy. This will be the back side of your firefly. (We used a purple egg here, but yellow eggs glow better.)
Use your thumb tack to poke 6 holes into the pointy half, 3 on each side, directly across from each other. If you are doing this with a group of kids, you may want to make the holes ahead of time.
Thread a pipe cleaner through one hole, and then thread it through the hole that is directly across from it. Do this with all three sets of holes, bending them to become the lightning bug’s legs.
You will also add the firefly’s wings to this half of the plastic egg.
Use a piece of duct tape, folded in half so that the sticky sides are together, leaving 1/4 inch uncovered so it can stick to the egg. If desired use scissors to round out the corners of the wings.
We used white duct tape, but yellow and silver also look good. Or let your child get creative and use another color or pattern duct tape.
The smaller half of the plastic egg will become the lightning bug’s head.
Use your thumbtack to poke 2 holes, about 1/4 inch apart, on one side.
Thread the last pipe cleaner through one hole and out the other to form the antennae. We wrapped the pipe cleaner halves around a pencil to curl them a bit, but you could also leave them straight.
Hot glue 2 wiggly eyes in place and use a permanent marker to make a smile.
To complete your firefly craft, insert your tea light (you can also use a mini glow stick) into the half with the lightning bug’s legs. We found that putting it with the flame side going through the pipe cleaner legs worked best.
Then snap the other half of your egg on.
Make this plastic egg firefly craft and bring a bit of that magic indoors this summer.
These little bugs make cute camp crafts and can also double as nightlights for a backyard camping trip.
You may also enjoy:
- Recycled Bottle Light-Up Lightning Bug
- Thumbprint Firefly Craft
- Firefly Make 10 Math Game from 123 Homeschool 4 Me
