Shared by Mark Herring, as Guest Blogger.

Cool Critter Creations

If you are looking for something to do with all your empty toilet paper rolls try turning them into butterflies or a frog or a beaver or any other animal of your choosing.  Simply cut out construction paper into the desired shape for you animals, and color on any additional features.

Empty toilet paper rolls present endless animal creation opportunities

Build Your own Butterfly

Another fun butterfly craft can be made from a clothesline pin and coffee filters. Take two coffee filters and using markers, color a pattern onto them. Once you’ve got the pattern and colors you want, gently sprinkle water onto the coffee filters and let them dry. After they’ve dried, pinch each one in the middle, and slide the filters up the clothesline pin. Add pipe cleaner antennas and eyes and you’ve got yourself a butterfly. 

A coffee filter butterfly, seen here in its natural habitat

Lighting Bug Made Easy

To incorporate a different item from your recycling bin into your animal collection, use a clear and clean plastic water bottle to form the body of the lightning bug. Take three pipe-cleaners and wrap them around the water bottle to form the legs. Cut out the wings on colored paper and glue them to the water bottle along with the eyes and antennas. Finally, insert a glow stick into the water bottle and light up your lightning bug.

 A glow stick lights up this water bottle lightning bug

Build your Own Bird Feeder

Another good way to reuse a plastic bottle is to turn it into a bird feeder. To do this, you will just need a clean bottle, a few small wooden sticks or dowel rods, scissors, rope, and a thumb tack. 

First, cut two holes that are about the thickness of your sticks/dowel rods into the lower portion of your plastic bottle. Place one of your sticks through these holes so that it securely forms a perch that birds can sit. Then cut another hole slightly above the perch that is large enough to allow birds to eat out of it. Repeat this higher up on the bottle to form a second perch and feeder hole. You will also want to cut two holes at the very top of the bottle to pass the rope through that will allow you to hang the feeder.  Since these holes may allow for some rainwater to get into your bottle,Take a thumb tack and poke holes in the bottom of the bottle to allow the water to drain. Lastly, pour your birdseed into the bottle. (A second water bottle cut in half to make a funnel helps a lot with this)  

A water bottle bird feeder provides plenty of opportunity for bird watching

With your bird feeder ready, hang in your backyard/outside a window and see what songbirds it attracts. Can you identify the different species? If not, that’s ok, as we’ve got you covered on how to start bird identification and bird watching. Click here for a link to the National Wildlife Refuge System's Backyard Birding information.

Indoor Campfire

Being indoors, doesn’t mean you can’t get the whole family together for a fun campfire. To make a safe, fireless campfire, cut a paper towel tube in half lengthwise. The two halves will be the logs. Cut a square in the center of each half of the paper towel so that you can overlap them to form an X. Create the fire using construction paper of whatever color you desire. (If you want to have a pink fire, you can have a pink fire.)

Indoor Campfire - Safe and fun!

Once you are done, gather the whole family around your campfire and take turns sharing stories or playing games like charades.

Bonus: You don't have to have a fire to enjoy the tasty treat of S’Mores. Just roast your marshmallows in the oven for a few minutes until they are your desired toastiness whether that’s lightly or burnt to a crisp, add chocolate and graham crackers, and enjoy. 

Enjoy these ideas and more from your Virginia State Parks!