Lad is not overly keen on arty crafty stuff.

I have tried to encourage him over the years, really I have. At my instigation we have made pasta necklaces, painted pictures, drawn cartoons, created birthday cards.

But right from when he was very little, arty crafty stuff has never been something he has undertaken very willingly, or with any great amount of joy.

This sometimes, I admit, makes me want to weep.

Anyway, he came home a few weeks ago with an art project for homework. To create a creature from recycled materials.

Utterly void of ideas and not remotely keen on creating anything at all, when I asked him one evening if he had homework I was informed in response that his project was due in next day. Ouch.

I suggested (with great forbearance) we make something easy.

And this is what we came up with…

What do you mean “what is it?”!!

It’s an Australian Frilled Lizard of course!

We actually saw one when we were in Australia. It was sunbathing by our beach house back door.

The real thing looks like this:

A few bits of felt, some of lad’s more outré outgrown socks, a needle and thread, scissors, an old cushion’s innards, a scrap of cardboard (for teeth) and some glue, and Frilly was good to go.

Lad even confessed that, to his own amazement, he actually enjoyed making him.

Bonus!

So I hereby offer up Frilly as weekend crafting inspiration for your own reluctant – or keen – junior crafters.

Or, alternatively, you could just make a snake. ♥