Craft A Jungle Adventure with Astrobrights Cardstock

 

 

 

BY Farah Rehmani
   @iheartcrafts.ca

Welcome to the Jungle (Made of Cardstock)! 🐘🦁🐊

This summer, we’re turning up the creativity with Astrobrights® Color Camp - a celebration of color, imagination, and all the amazing things kids can create with paper! Today we’re heading deep into the (craft) jungle with three fun and vibrant animal projects made entirely from Astrobrights® Spectrum Cardstock.

In this blog post, you’ll learn how to make a cheerful elephant, a mighty lion, and a toothy alligator - each one bursting with personality and color. These crafts are perfect for a summer afternoon at home, at camp, or in the classroom. So go grab a pack of Astrobrights® Spectrum Cardstock and let’s get crafty! 😊

Supplies:

• Astrobrights® Spectrum Cardstock (8.5" x 11") in your favorite hues
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Eraser
• Black Marker
• Glue Stick/School Glue
• Tape
• Glue gun (optional)
• Three pairs of googly eyes
  
   

 

How to Make a Paper Elephant 

Step 1: Make the Body

Start by cutting a sheet of Lunar Blue™ cardstock as shown - approximately 4.5 inches tall and 6” inches wide. Then roll it into a cylinder and secure the edge with tape or glue. This will be the elephant’s body.

 

Step 2: Draw the features

Using more Lunar Blue™ cardstock, draw and cut out the trunk and two ear shapes as shown. For matching ears, fold the cardstock in half, draw one ear, and cut through both layers. Add a few curved lines on the trunk to suggest wrinkles. On Plasma Pink™ cardstock, draw the inner ear shapes and a small circle for the trunk tip—use the same folding trick to get two matching inner ears. Finally, cut two long, narrow triangles from Solar White™ cardstock for the tusks.

 

Step 3: Cut everything out

Cut out all the pieces

 

 

Step 4: Assemble your elephant

Layer the pink inner ears on top of the blue ears and glue them in place. Attach the finished ears to each side of the elephant’s body. Next, glue the pink circle to the tip of the trunk, then position the tusks behind the trunk and attach everything to the center front of the body. Stick on a pair of googly eyes to give your elephant some personality. For a playful touch, curl the trunk and tusks slightly around a pencil to add dimension.

 

 

How to Make a Mighty Paper Lion

Step 2: Make the lions face

Next, trace a circle about 1.5" wide onto Galaxy Gold™ cardstock for the lion’s face. At the top of the circle, draw two small semi-circles for ears and then cut out the whole shape. Add the lion’s facial features: use markers to draw the inner parts of the ears, a nose, a smiling mouth, and whiskers. Stick on a pair of googly eyes to bring your lion to life.

Step 3: Assemble the lion’s head

Glue the yellow face onto the center of the orange mane, lining it up so the ears sit just inside the fringe.

Step 4: Build the Body

Cut a 3.5" x 6" rectangle from Galaxy Gold™ cardstock. Roll it into a cylinder and secure the edge with glue or tape. This will be the lion’s body.

Step 5: Make the Front Paws and hind legs

Trace a small circle about 0.75" wide on Galaxy Gold™ cardstock and cut it in half to make two rounded paws. Use a black marker to draw little toes.

Draw the hind leg shapes as shown onto Galaxy Gold™ cardstock. To make them identical, fold the cardstock in half and cut through both layers at once. Add toes with a black marker to match the front paws.

Step 6: Create the Tail

Draw a long tail shape on Galaxy Gold™ cardstock and cut it out. Then draw a small tuft for the tail tip on Orbit Orange™ cardstock and cut it out as well. Tape the orange tuft onto the end of the yellow tail.

Step 7: Final Assembly

Now it’s time to bring your lion together! Start by gluing the hind legs to the back of the body. Attach the tail so it curves around or sticks out from behind. Glue the front paws near the base of the body at the front. Finally, attach the lion’s head to the top of the cylinder body.

 

 

How to Make a Toothy Alligator

Step 1: Make the Body and Tail

Start by cutting a 3.5" x 6" rectangle from Gamma Green™ cardstock. Roll it into a tube shape to form the alligator’s body and secure the edge with glue or tape. Set it horizontally. Then, draw and cut out a long-curved tail as shown, making sure the base is as wide as the body. Tape the tail to the back of the cylinder so it extends outward.

 

 

Step 2: Create the Jaws

Draw the shape of the alligator’s head onto Gamma Green™ cardstock as shown. To get an identical lower jaw, fold the cardstock in half and cut through both layers at once.

Glue both jaws onto Solar White™ cardstock and draw small triangles for sharp teeth along the rounded edge as shown.

 

 

Step 3: Add features (eyes, nostrils, tongue)

Draw two nostrils at the front of the upper jaw. Then, to create upright eyes, glue a pair of googly eyes to small, folded strips of Gamma Green™ cardstock and attach them to the top of the head so they pop up. Cut a tongue shape from Re-Entry Red™ cardstock and glue it inside the lower jaw. Then cut everything out.

 

Step 4: Attach the Head

Glue the finished head (upper and lower jaws) to the front of the cylinder body. Angle it slightly so the mouth looks wide and open—ready to chomp!

Step 6: Make the Legs and Arms and spiky scales

Draw two front arms and two back legs on Gamma Green™ cardstock as shown. For perfectly matched pairs, fold the cardstock and cut through both layers. To make the spiky scales, draw a zigzag strip on Vulcan Green™ cardstock and cut it out in one long piece.

Step 7: Put it all together

Glue on the arms / legs onto the alligator’s sides. For the scales, snip it into smaller sections and hot glue them onto the top of the body and tail for a bold, textured look.

And just like that, your paper jungle is complete—with a friendly elephant, a brave lion, and a snappy alligator to show for it! We hope these colorful crafts brought smiles, sparked creativity, and filled your summer day with fun.

Thanks to Astrobrights® cardstock, every project is bursting with bold, vibrant color—because crafting should be just as bright as your imagination. Don’t stop here—Color Camp is all about exploring, experimenting, and making magic with paper all summer long.

Stay tuned for more crafty ideas and share your jungle animals with us using #ColorCamp—we’d love to see what you create!