Paper Bag Monster

What You’ll Create

RAAWR! 👹 Your little monster-makers will transform a humble paper bag into a wild, lovable monster! Stuff it with scrunched newspaper or paper for a chunky 3D body, twist the top corners into pointy horns, paint a fearsome (but friendly) face with big teeth, add wobbly googly eyes and wild tissue paper hair. Every monster is unique — wonky, wonderful, and full of personality!

How to Set It Up

Step 1: Stuff the Bag

Scrunch up sheets of newspaper or spare paper into balls and stuff them inside a paper bag until it’s plump and round. Don’t overstuff — leave a few centimetres at the top. The bag should feel firm but still have some squish. This is your monster’s chunky body! 📦

Step 2: Create the Horns

Twist the top corners of the bag into two pointy horns. Wrap a piece of tape around the base of each twist to hold the shape. You can also twist the whole top and bend it to one side for a single-horned monster. Experiment with different horn styles! 🦏

Step 3: Paint the Monster

Paint the whole bag with bright poster paint — green, purple, blue, or any monster colour! Use a thick coat. Once the base colour dries, paint on a big mouth with sharp (but silly) teeth using white and a contrasting colour. Add spots, stripes, or scales for texture. 🎨

Step 4: Add Eyes and Hair

Stick on big googly eyes — the bigger and more wonky, the better! Use markers to add nostrils, eyebrows, scars, or freckles. Cut strips of tissue paper and glue or tape them between the horns for wild, colourful hair. Your monster is alive! 👀

Have fun!

• 👹 Make a whole monster family — big ones, tiny ones, and baby monsters!
• 📝 Give your monster a name, age, and backstory — what does it eat? Where does it live?
• 🎭 Put on a monster puppet show — use the monsters as characters in a play!
• 📖 Write a story about your monster’s adventure — illustrate it too!

Why It’s Amazing

• 3D Sculpture: Stuffing, shaping, and twisting transforms a flat bag into a 3D character — introducing basic sculpture and form-making. 🏗️

• Creative Expression: With no “right” way to make a monster, every child’s creation is uniquely theirs — building confidence in creative decision-making. 🎨

• Storytelling & Literacy: Naming the monster and inventing its personality sparks narrative thinking — a key literacy skill disguised as play. 📖

• Emotional Processing: Creating friendly monsters helps children process fears and understand that scary things can be silly and lovable. 💚

Pro Tips

For ages 3–5: Pre-stuff the bag and twist the horns. Let them paint the body and stick on eyes. The googly eyes moment always gets a giggle! Keep the face simple — two eyes and a big smile.

For ages 5–8: Let them stuff and shape their own monster. Show them how to paint teeth (white triangles in a coloured mouth). Encourage them to invent a monster name and personality.

For ages 8–12: Challenge them to create a specific type of monster with detailed features. Add accessories — a cape from tissue paper, a crown from pipe cleaners, or arms from cardboard tubes. Write a full character profile.

Secret Pro Move: Before painting, lightly mist the bag with water from a spray bottle — the paint adheres much better to slightly damp paper and the colours look richer! 🎯