Plastic Spoon Bug Craft

 I don't usually think about my next church bulletin board too far in advance, but when inspiration hits, you just run with it! I have a large tree that I put up every few months, sometimes with green leaves and sometimes with red and orange depending on the season. 

For the summer version, I'm going to add these adorable bugs on leaves. They started out as a kids' project, but they're going to be just perfect on this bulletin board.

And they're pretty simple, too. You just need craft foam, plastic spoons, a pretty leaf template, paint, scissors, a craft knife, a pen and some tape.

You can easily find a leaf outline online and print it out at the size you want. Trace it onto the foam and cut it out.

The handle of the spoon will be the stem of the leaf, so it will hang out the back of the leaf by quite a bit.

With the thickest part of the handle, use your craft knife to cut a slit in the foam.

Slide the spoon through and tape it down on the back.

Now comes the fun part - decorating! God created all kinds of pretty bugs, and you can, too. Paint them in a variety of colors and patterns, planning on at least two coats of paint per spoon. It also helps to scuff them a little bit with sandpaper so the paint holds on tightly. If you're going to paint the whole spoon back like I did with the red ones, paint them and let them dry before you put them on the leaf and tack them down.

I also have some butterflies made, but you'll have to wait for a few weeks to see them when the bulletin board is up. Patience, grasshopper...