How to Make a Popsicle Stick Monster for Halloween
Updated on February 28, 2021
The closer we get to Halloween, the more our kidslove the idea of using their crafting skills to create all kinds of ghosts, ghouls, goblins, and monsters. I love using whatever they love most during any given season to keep them interested in crafting, so right now I’ve been working on getting their new love of monsters of all kind involved. That and the fact that we already had scrap yarn and crafting sticks lying around was how I came up with (and decided to document our process for making) these funny little pom pom and popsicle stick monsters!
Keep scrolling to find step by step instructions with helpful photos if you’d like to give these little monsters a try as well. If you’d much rather follow a video tutorial, then scroll all the way to the bottom of this post!
For this project, you’ll need:
- Four popsicle sticks
- Yarn
- Paint in the same colour as your yarn
- A glue stick
- A paint brush
- Scissors
- Light pink paper
- Two googly eyes
Step 1: Gather your materials!
Double check your list and get everything you need together and within reach.
Step 2: paint the sticks
Paint your four popsicle sticks the same colour as your yarn! I had blue scrap yarn left over from another project and we decided to use that, so I painted my popsicle sticks blue. You could also paint yours a contrasting colour if you we, but my kids liked the monochrome idea.
Step 3: cut
Cut your popsicle sticks in half right down the middle of each! These will be your monsters legs, so it should have eight legs (four on either side) by the time you’re done cutting.
Step 4: make the legs
Cut a tapered shape from your paper. I made a shape that resembles an oval, but pointed at each end. This will be the base that your monsters legs are built onto later. For now, set it side.
Step 5: start the pom pom
Cut a piece of yarn about four inches long and loop it in half, then hold out your hand and place it between your middle and ring finger about halfway along its length. Take the end of your ball of yarn and place it against your fingers, holding that in place with your thumb, then start wrapping the yarn around all four of your fingers held together using your other hand. You want to make sure the ends of that loop you placed between your fingers stick out the side and don’t get caught in the wrapping and stuck underneath. Once you’ve wrapped enough yarn around to hold the end in place for you, you can slide your thumb out. Keep wrapping until the yarn around your hand is about half an inch thick and then cut it. Your loop and ends should still be sticking out the side where you can get them.
Step 6: tie
Bring the looped side of your first piece of yarn up and around the side of your wrapped bundle from the back of your hand. Bring your loose ends of the same piece over and around from the front of your hand to meet the loop and put them through it. Pull the ends tightly through the loop, creating a sort of slip knot that lets you cinch the middle of your wrapped bundle, gathering it tightly. As it pinches in the middle, start to slide your fingers out, then tighten the string around the bundle as much as you can and tie it in a knot to keep it in place.
Step 7: cut the sides
With your scissors, cut the loops on either side of the cinch you just made until you have fringed ends one each side instead. As you cut these ends free, the volume of the amount of yarn you wrapped will make them pouf out into your pom pom shape. Feel free to fluff these up and help your rounded shape along a little.
Step 8: trim
Use your scissors to trim the uneven ends all the way around the outside surface of your newly formed pom pom so it turns out smooth and even all the way around.
Step 9: stick the body on
Apply glue to the length of the tapered piece of paper you made earlier and stick the cut ends of your popsicle stick monster legs along each side, almost like you’d see on a spider. You’ll have four legs sticking out each side by the time you’re done.
Step 10: assemble
Apply glue to the top surface of the cut ends of your monster legs all around the center where they meet the paper. This is where you’ll stick your pom pom into place so it becomes your monster’s head and body.
Step 11: add eyes
Apply glue to the backs of your googly eyes and stick them into place where you think they fit best on the front of your pom pom. You now have a hairy, scary monster!
Just in case you’d like to try this project out for yourself, here’s a fantastic tutorial video to help you!