Paper Elephant Craft – Step By Step Tutorial

You really find simple paper crafts special, especially when you turn them into tiny cute things like this elephant.

You might try it on a peaceful afternoon, and you can see how a simple idea can quickly become one of those “let’s make another one” moments for you.

If you have ever seen fancy craft photos online and thought “mine never looks like that,” you are not alone, you’ve been there too.

You can make this elephant craft easily, and you don’t need any special tools. This step-by-step guide can help you make something cute without stress, even if you are doing it with kids.

Let’s jump in!

Why Does My Elephant Craft Never Look Like the Picture?

You are not the only one who has finished a project and thought, “you know, why doesn’t mine look like that?”

You might have felt this way too, especially when you see those perfectly arranged photos online.

And you think you should be getting the same result. The truth is, you can notice that most of those pictures are heavily polished.

And in real life your crafts, especially when you are doing them with kids, will not always turn out that perfect.

It is okay if your paper, your cutting, or even how you draw the shape does not work out sometimes.

Your elephant might have a trunk that wobbles or you might see an ear a little bigger. But you can also see that this is exactly what makes it special for you.

Materials Needed:

• Blue paper sheet
• Colored paper (pink, white and black)
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue
• Black marker (for eye details)

Step-by-Step Guide to Make an Elephant Paper Craft

1. Gather Your Paper and Craft Tools

You start by placing a clean blue piece of paper on a clean table, and you usually try to have everything ready before you begin.

You can do this because once the kids get excited, you will notice there is usually no time left to look for glue or scissors.

For the details later, you can keep a pencil, scissors, glue, and some small pieces of colored paper with you.

You might use blue paper for the body of the elephant, but gray or any other fun color can also work if you want a different look.

If you want your elephant to stand up at the end. You should make sure your paper is not too thin, because thicker paper will help you get a better shape and a stronger result.

2. Fold the Paper and Draw the Elephant Shape

Now you carefully fold the blue paper in half, and you can see this fold is really important because it helps your elephant stand up later.

You should press it down properly with your fingers so the fold becomes neat and strong.

After you fold it, you can take your pencil and start sketching half of the elephant shape on one side.

You can draw a simple outline that shows the head, trunk, back, and legs all together.

At first, your shape might look a little weird too, but when you start cutting it and decorating it, you will notice it slowly turns into something really cute.

You should draw lightly with your pencil so you can easily erase or adjust the shape if you feel something is not right.

3. Cut Along the Pencil Outline

Using scissors, you carefully cut along the line you have drawn with your pencil. And you should take your time so you don’t lose control of the shape.

If smaller kids are making this craft, they might need help from an adult at this stage.

Because you can find the trunk and legs a little tricky to cut. Even if you feel the shape looks easy, you should not rush it.

When you finally finish cutting, you should get a folded elephant shape that starts to look real.

This is the fun stage where you can see your paper slowly turning into a proper craft instead of just a simple folded sheet.

And you might actually feel excited seeing it come to life.

4. Open the Folded Paper and Check the Shape

After you cut it, you should carefully unfold the paper and you can look at how your elephant starts to appear.

You can now see the full elephant body with the fold right in the middle. And you should gently place it on the table to check if it stays upright.

If it leans a little, you can simply adjust the fold or press the bottom edges again until it stands better.

This stage might feel easy, but you can use it to check whether your elephant can stand properly before you add any decorations.

You might also notice how this moment feels special, because the craft suddenly starts feeling “real,”. And you can see how excited kids become when they watch it stand on its own.

5. Cut the Small Decoration Pieces

Now it’s time for you to get all the cute little details ready, and you can use colored paper to cut out the elephant’s ear, eye, tusk, nails, and feet.

You can make the ear in a heart shape, and you will notice it instantly makes your elephant look more cute and playful.

For the tusk, you should use white paper, and for the eye, you can use black paper so it stands out clearly.

For the nails, you can choose any color you like, so you can really make it your own style.

Before you start gluing anything, you should keep all these small pieces ready because you can make decorating much easier this way.

If you are doing this with kids, you will find it less messy and much more organized.

You can first place all the small pieces on the elephant without glue, just so you can see where everything looks best before you finally stick them.

6. Paste the Details on the Elephant Body

Now you can start placing all the details on your elephant’s body, and you should begin with the eye near the head, the heart-shaped ear in the middle, and the tusk close to the trunk.

You can then add the little nail or foot details at the bottom.

And you should try to place everything in the right spot, but you don’t really need to stress about making it perfect.

If the ear tilts a little or the eye turns out slightly uneven, you might actually notice it makes your elephant look even more charming.

After you glue everything, you should gently press each piece so it sticks properly, and you can let it settle for a minute before you move it around.

7. Adjust the Fold and Finish the Craft

After you have glued all the parts together, you can open and arrange the folded paper again so your elephant can stand up straight.

You should gently press down the central fold and make sure both sides stay even.

If your elephant keeps falling, you can simply adjust the bottom part a little bigger until it can stand on its own properly.

And that’s it, you can see your cute paper elephant project is done! You should feel happy because it turns into such a simple but really adorable little craft.

You can place it on a shelf, use it for a school project, or you might even make a whole family of paper elephants if you want.

How Can I Make an Elephant Craft With Things Already at Home?

This is your favorite kind of craft because you don’t have to go to the store at all.

You can usually make this elephant using things you already have around the house, and you can work with whatever is available to you.

Colored paper is nice, but you can also use unused notebooks, wrapping paper, or leftover craft pieces just as easily.

If you don’t have colored paper, you can simply give the kids crayons or markers and let them color plain paper themselves.

Instead of cutting small details, you can just sketch the eyes directly, and if you need to, you can even use tape instead of glue.

How Do You Make an Elephant Craft When You’re Not Good at Drawing?

If you are saying to yourself, “you can’t even draw a straight line, how will you make an elephant,” you don’t need to worry.

You might have felt the same way at first, but the good news is you don’t have to be a great artist to do this craft.

You can keep the shape very simple for you, like a circular body, a curving trunk, and short legs. It doesn’t need to be very detailed for you to make it look cute.

Another easy way for you is to look for a simple elephant outline online, trace it gently, and then follow that shape.

To make things even easier for you, you can also fold the paper and draw only half of the shape, so you can guide yourself more comfortably.

FAQs

Can I use different colors instead of blue for the elephant craft?

For sure, you can see elephants are often made in blue or gray, but you can choose any color you want for yours.

You might notice kids often like to pick their favorite colors like pink, purple, or even patterned paper, and you can let yourself do the same too.

It makes your craft feel more exciting and unique for you.

The main point here isn’t for you to be realistic, it’s for you to be creative and have fun while making it.

How can I make this elephant craft more durable?

You can use thicker material like cardstock or even light cardboard instead of normal paper if you want your elephant craft to last longer.

You might also want to make the fold in the middle stronger so it can stand up better on its own.

If you want better results, you should also use less glue and press each piece down firmly so it sticks properly and stays in place.

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