This clever critter can make a ball hover in the air.
| Prep Time: About 1 hour | |
| What you need: | |
| Seal templates (available here, see Step 1)
Craft foam Pencil, scissors, and stapler 14-inch-long piece of clear vinyl tubing (available at hardware and craft stores; ours was 7/16 inch in diameter) Permanent markers Googly eyes and tacky glue (optional) 1 1/2-inch-diameter Styrofoam ball Pushpin or thick sewing needle 18-inch-long piece of 22- to 24-gauge floral wire (available at craft stores) | |
| Seasons: Year round | |
| Materials: foam | |
| Instructions: | |
| 1. | Download the
seal templates. (To view the .pdf file, you'll need Adobe Reader, which is available for free from the Adobe site.) |
| 2. |  Trace the templates on to craft foam and then cut them out
as shown. Cut 1-inch slits along the lines marked A and B. |
| 3. | Bend the seal over lengthwise and insert the flippers into the body by sliding slits A and slits B together. Thread the tubing over the fins and out the mouth. Now staple the body together roughly at the seal's chin. |
| 4. | Decorate the seal's face with markers and/or googly eyes. Color the Styrofoam ball with the markers. |
| 5. | To make the basket, use the pin or needle to poke a hole in the tubing about 1/4 inch from the end. Thread a little of the wire into the hole, then wrap it around the tip of the tubing a few times (not so tightly that it crimps the tubing). Now hold the Styrofoam ball over the mouth of the tube and very loosely wrap the rest of the wire around the bottom half of the ball. |
| 6. | Blow into the tubing to float the ball in the air, adjusting your breath to gently lower it right back into the basket. |
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