EGG CARTON DINOSAURS

** This post is sponsored by the folks behind the new TV show, Gigantosaurus.

Good news, my fellow dinosaur-loving friends: Gigantosaurus, that hilarious/super cute must-read-aloud picture book we all know by heart and adore, is coming to the Disney Channel in the form of a brand-new must-watch preschool kiddo TV show! Kinley and I had the privilege of a sneak peek at the first episode and we both loved it. The dino buddies are charming, the colors are super bright and happy, the story lines are smart and engaging, Gigantosaurus is just the right mix of goofball and ferocious, and the theme song is so dang catchy you will probably find yourself humming it even after the kiddos are in bed (not speaking from personal experience or anything 😉).

Because I am both amped about the premiere and in full on egg-carton-critter-making mode, I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate that big fierce wild bookish dinosaur getting his own show than to make a cute little slightly-less-fierce egg carton version of him. Wanna make one (or 12) too? 😁

You'll need:

• egg carton, one carton will make three crafty Gigantosauruses
• green acrylic paint + paintbrushes
• hot glue + glue gun
• scissors
• white, red and green felt
• green pipe cleaners

Instructions:

1. Cut the lid and fold-to-close tab off of the egg carton and separate all of the cups.

2. Trim all of the raggedy edges and weird little nubs off of all of the egg cups. 

3. Paint all of the egg cups with green acrylic paint. 

Pick a shade, any shade!

4. Glue two egg cups on top of each other to make the body.

I like to make the two little nubs on the bottom egg cup turned to look like legs and the top one turned so one nub looks like the neck. The picture should explain this a little better. 

5. Assembling the head: 

Cut a skinny and long strip of white felt and make tiny zig-zag cuts all the way down the center of it to make two rows of teeth at once and set them aside for a minute.

I like to turn the egg cup that will be on the bottom so that one nub is in front to make the dino chin and the top one so the two nubs are visible to make the eye bumps. The picture should help explain this one too! 

Hold the top and bottom together before you glue and make sure that it fits together well and maybe trim where the mouth is going to go a little so there is more room for the fierce felt teeth. 

Now glue the felt teeth in both halves where the mouth will go so that they are sticking out from under the egg cups. 

Glue the two head halves together. (If you just use a little glue at the back of the head, you can still open and shut his mouth a little which makes him extra fun to pretend with 😉)

6. Glue the head to the body.

Offsetting the head a little helps make these guys a little more dinosaur-ish. Check out the picture to see what I mean:

7. Glue on the googly eyes.

8. Make tiny Gigantosaurus claws with your green pipe cleaners and attach them with hot glue. Just cut a piece of pipe cleaner the arm-length you like and then twist a smaller piece of pipe cleaner around it to make two more claws.

9. Cut a triangle tail out of green felt and attach it to the back of your dino buddy.

10. To make it look extra Gigantosaurus-ish, attach small red felt triangle spikes from his head all the way down his back.

Wouldn't these guys make super adorable party favors? Maybe attached to lanyard string to make a necklace or with candy stuffed in each adorably ferocious little mouth? Kinley has been having fun stomping them around her blocks and terrifying the little plastic dinosaurs 😜

If you adore the Gigantosaurus book as much as we do, or if you've never heard of it but just love dinosaurs, make sure you set your DVR for the first episode on The Disney Channel's Disney Junior block JANUARY 18, 2019 at 9:00 AM. Kinley and I will be tuned in to watch it live with dinosaur-shaped pancakes and gigantosmoothies ready, that's for sure!

One last thing, y'all: if you make one of these little guys and post him on social media, please tag us @raising.kinley and @gigantosarustv 'cause we would all totally love to see!

Happy crafting and watching!!