Everybody loves animals, and everybody will love these crafty animal projects for kids: They're amazing creatures, and you'll learn to make them yourself. Create pets out of pencils, make cats and dogs for your bedroom, or let your imagination run wild -- and bring the wild into your house.

No matter what kind of animal you love, there is sure to be a crafty animal project for you.

Pencil Pals Animal Project

Coil up with a new friend with the Pencil Pals animal project.

What You'll Need:

Kids with learning disabilities sometimes need a special friend to help them stay focused and eager to learn. These cute pencil pals might be just what the teacher ordered.

Crafty Animals Project

The soft and cuddly animals in this crafty animals project will never run away from home.

What You'll Need:

It's hard to believe you can turn cardboard and scrap yarn into fun animals, but it's true.How to make crafty animals: Step 1: Cut three strips of scrap cardboard; make two the same length and the other about two inches longer. The longest strip will be the body, neck, and head of the animal. The other strips will be the animal's legs. Step 2: Make a bend in the longer piece of cardboard, about 1/4 of the way down from an end; make another bend another 1/4 of the way down from the first bend. This is the head and neck of the animal. Your animal should look a bit like a backward Z.Step 3: Bend the shorter two pieces in half. Fold one over the "shoulders" of the animal, just behind the neck, and the other at the opposite end or "bottom" of the animal. (You'll need to re-bend the legs so they lay flat on top of the animal's body.) Glue the legs in place. Step 4: Wrap your animal's body with yarn. Work your way down the body, circling it again and again with soft, fluffy yarn, passing over the legs at first. Once the body is covered, slowly work your way back to the legs and start wrapping those pieces of cardboard until they are covered and plump. Work your way back up to the belly of the animal, and tie off the loose end of yarn.

Hammer a Lion Animal Project

Pound out a wild work of art in the Hammer a Lion animal project.

What You'll Need:

How to make the Hammer a Lion animal project:Step 1: Draw a lion on a piece of paper. Step 2: Imprint the design into your block of wood by placing the picture on the wood. Then retrace the lines with a pencil, pressing extra hard. Step 3: Now that you have the outline of the lion in the wood, hammer nails into the block of wood along the lines. Before you know it, you'll have three-dimensional art you can keep or give proudly as a gift. Remember this activity isn't limited to a lion -- you can create your own special design. Do you have a friend who just loves koalas? How about Aunt Jane who collects elephants? And don't limit yourself to just animals -- there are lots of objects that would make great pictures.

Resource: HowStuffWorks