Love Bugs

/ Henna Leave a comment

Love Bugs 3 versions trials and tribulations

You may have seen these cute critters on Pinterest. We made 3 different versions since we kept having glue issues. I’ll show you what we all did. With pro’s and cons as they appeared.

Toddler approved
Toddler approved

1. First we tried to make them with Elmers glue as a post on Pinterest had suggested. I found it very flimsy and not toddler friendly as I had to hold the pieces on for a long time and the pom poms sucked in all the glue I put on. However this is a great version for older kids with patience and enough skills to do this on their own.

Things for the Elmers glue version
Things for the Elmers glue version

What you will need:

Put glue on the clothes pin
Put glue on the clothes pin
We wanted our Love Bug to have legs so we cut a pipe cleaner in 3 and folded little feet at the ends
We wanted our Love Bug to have legs so we cut a pipe cleaner in 3 and folded little feet at the ends
Placing pom poms
Placing pom poms
As you can see the 4 pom poms didn't fit all that great and were having trouble drying nicely
As you can see the 4 pom poms didn’t fit all that great and were having trouble drying nicely

2. The second Love Bug we tried Removable Clear Mounting Squares instead of the Elmers glue. This version is great for toddlers as a sensory and exploratory experience, as there is no messy glue to work with. However, the end product is not stable to hang up and the mounting squares don’t grip very strongly. So we ended taking it apart and using the pieces in the final version.

What you will need:

  • Elmers Glue
  • Clothes pin
  • Googlie eyes
  • Deco Tubing ribbon for the legs
  • Red and pink pom-poms
Removable clear mounting squares trial
Removable clear mounting squares trial
Sticking on the legs
Sticking on the legs
Great art material exploring experience
Great art material exploring experience
Toddler approved
Toddler approved
Love Bug with removable clear mounting squares
Love Bug with removable clear mounting squares

3. The final and most successful version, we used hot glue. As I mentioned we used the pieces from the second version so the googlie eyes are already attached. This method will give you the most durable end result. Not as toddler friendly unless they know how to use a glue gun. Sophia is good about listening to instructions so I don’t have problems with her putting pieces on to the hot glue dabs I place. Plus I’m like a hawk with 100% attention on what she does when we are working together. I think in a few months (if I can find a suitable glue gun) I’ll let her practice holding it.

What you will need:

  • Hot glue gun and glue stick
  • Clothes pin
  • Googlie eyes
  • Deco Tubing ribbon for the legs
  • Red and pink pom-poms
  • Glitter foam sheet (for cutting feet from)

Plug in your glue gun and let it heat up before starting.

Hot glue version we added little feet on to the ribbon
Hot glue version we added little feet on to the ribbon
I hot glued the feet on to the ribbon before hand
I hot glued the feet on to the ribbon before hand
Love Bug hot glued
Love Bug hot glued

Since we were working with a hot glue gun I didn’t get any action shots. But I would put a dab of glue and Sophia would stick either a leg or pom pom into it, as she wanted.