Make Your Own Hovering Dragonflies for the Garden

We’ve gone bug crazy here! We've been spending so much time outside gardening, & exploring our neighbourhood that we've spotted a number of bugs & insects which Minnie is showing a real interest in.  One of her favourites are dragonflies, so we thought we’d have a go at making our own to hover around the garden.



To make our dragonflies we used
2 pipe cleaners
2 small round beads
Recycled clear thin plastic (we picked ours up from a Scrap Store but you could use the lid of a food container)
Permanent marker pen
Scissors.

* To make the wings for your dragonfly, draw your chosen wing shape onto the plastic, or print off our template below to trace around.



* Decorate your dragonfly wings with permanent marker pen, & then cut out.

* To make the body, bend both pipe cleaners in half. Hold the pipe cleaners together & slide a bead over both of them, one at each end. Twist the pipe cleaners just under the 2 beads, to create a head for the dragonfly.



* Twist a couple of times & then slide your dragonfly wings between the pipe cleaners. Carefully twist the pipe cleaners again under the plastic to hold the wings in place, & then continue to twist.



*Once you have got to the end, bend the pipe cleaners around each other at the bottom, to hold them in place


We also experimented with a gold marker pen, & coloured glass pens on the wings.

Minnie cut these wings out by herself


Minnie discovered that if you bend the pipe cleaner body of the dragonfly down slightly near the wings, the dragonflies will sit on a small object & look as if they're hovering.


 We also hung some around our garden by tying a length elastic just behind the wings. They look so effective, just like they're flying through the air!

Great for encouraging an interest in nature & encouraging care for the wildlife in your neighbourhood!