There are just some books you fall in love with immediately. Lost And Found by Oliver Jeffers, for me, is one of those books. Adam is captivated whenever we read it. When I found out Emma Owl was hosting a Read-It Make-It Book and Craft Blog Hop I knew we had the perfect story. It was time to create a Lost And Found Small World.
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Regular readers will know I have a fear of craft activities as I do not have an artistic bone in my body. However, the simplicity of the illustrations within Lost And Found meant that even I could attempt to re-create the characters. I do have a confession though. We only have the film tie-in edition of the story so have no idea how closely it follows to the original illustrations.
I wanted all of our Lost and Found small world to fit inside a box. I took a papier mache square box and made sure that all of our props would fit inside. To decorate the box I photocopied a page from the story and used Mod Podge Glue
to attach it to the lid. Our Lost and Found Small World is now a Busy Bag which can go out and about with us.
Here are instructions how we made each item within our Lost and Found Small World:
How to make The Boy
Take an empty Actimel bottle, paint it with pink acrylic paint and wait for it to dry. Cut a strip of white electrical tape
in half and wrap it around the middle of the bottle to create two stripes for The Boys jumper. Use a red permanent marker
to complete the jumper.
Use a blue permanent marker to draw on The Boys legs and a black permanent marker
to draw on The Boys facial features.
Take a small red sock and place it on top of the Actimel bottle. Use a loom band or elastic bad to secure the top and cut off the remaining sock.
How to make The Penguin
Regular readers will know about our penguin obsession. Throughout 2016 we are having a penguin delivered to our house everyday – just like in the story 365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental. So far we have had over 100 penguins delivered so I am very good at making penguins quickly. You can read our DIY Penguin tutorial here.
I used a similar method for our Lost and Found penguin. I just added an orange beak, coloured in the top of the cup using a black permanent marker and coloured in the top of the penguins tummy with orange and yellow felt tips.
How to make the Lost and Found boat
Our boat is made from the base of a large matchstick box. It is the perfect size to fit both the Boy and the Penguin inside. I decorated it using red and black permanent markers
and even included a number 4 sticker on the back.
For the two oars I took two wooden disposable forks and cut off the prongs. I coloured in the fork using a brown permanent markers.
How to make the Lost and Found umbrella
It took me ages to find something suitable for the umbrella. As the penguin had to fit inside, I struggled to find anything big enough. Finally I decided to use a large recycled disposable cup.
I cut the top off of the cup and created a wave like pattern. I decorated it using yellow and red permanent marker
. Finally I added a brown pipe cleaner for the umbrellas handle.
How to make the South Pole and the sea
I took the base of the papier mache square box and cut a piece of blue card to fit inside. I printed the Lost and Found Small World Background from Twinkl and added a small section to the box. I then cut a length of recycled polystyrene foam to fit inside.
To make the sea I use two different shades of blue felt. The darker blue was to represent the sea during the storm. I also added a small triangular piece of polystyrene foam to represent the iceberg.
Adam and I have fallen in love with our Lost and Found Small World. So far we have followed the book whilst acting out the story with our props. However, Adam is keen to point out that I didn’t make an octopus!
Be sure to check out the other Read-It Make-It book crafts over on Emma Owl.
Check out these childhood character activities as part of the Kid Craft Challenge:
Paper Plate Sesame Street Craft by The Resourceful Mama
Winnie the Pooh Preschool Craft by CraftCreateCalm
Minnie Mouse Plant by Raising Fairies and Knights
Celebrate Special Photos with Kid Made Picture Frames by Crafty Mama in ME
How to make The BFG’s ears by The Gingerbread House
Cookie Cutter Painting Activity Inspired By Paw Patrol by Play Dough & Popsicles
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This is such a clever idea!! I love the Oars!!
This is so cute and creative…
Love how you replicated the characters of this book!
Awesome Emma, just awesome I always come away feeling inspired. Thanks for sharing on #ToddlerApprovedTuesday
PS: I dont believe for a second crafts scare you! You are fast becoming my go to for ideas and inspiration! Keep up the awesome work 🙂 x
This is so cute! You always come up with such lovely crafts 🙂
this is very cute – my son got this book at Christmas, and I must confess that I’m not a *huge* fan of it, but he seems to like it.
#toddlerapprovedtuesday
I love that book. My son knew it word for word by the time he was three. That is such a lovely way to recreate the story and bring it to life.
Thanks for sharing with #LetKidsBeKids
Simply delightful, all such fun ideas and all using leftover items, I love this. It would make a great Trash2Treasure post if you fancy joining me. Popping by from #LetKidsBeKids