5 Things to Do With Pipe Cleaners

Pipe cleaners? Wait, like those things little kids bend into animals?
Yes. Pipe cleaners.
It just so happens that I have a TON of them. Some vintage, but mostly leftover from teaching kids' arts and crafts classes. There's got to be some way to use these things up. Some way besides straight up kiddie crafts, hopefully. Could pipe cleaners be transformed into kitschy, fun crafts? Could pipe cleaners be transformed into something bordering chic?
Here's what I found from around the internet. The results will shock you. Sort of.


Martha Stewart has some cute little creatures you could make, all with easy step by step photos.
Some even come with curious descriptions, such as "This squirrel likes to wave his tail around, which really cracks up the nut." Ooookay. Martha also identifies a danger for us: the loss of sanity from working with pipe cleaners.

This is in no way a tutorial, but I simply have to post it. Full Of Bliss shows us that yes, it IS possible to make wonderful things out of pipe cleaners. The secret may lie in the very sparing use of said pipe cleaners.

Pipe cleaners make decent armature wire. Sometimes I use them in various plushies. Here's a tutorial on how to make a needle felted replica of your own pet, using pipe cleaners and wait for it...

YOUR PET'S OWN HAIR.
Thank you, Craftzine.
(Note: Anyone else thinking of this? No?)


These personalized gift toppers were recently featured in ReadyMade. Dare I say it...these are almost chic! Hooray, ReadyMade!

Finally, something I truly never considered before:


Hello, easy way to make stop motion creatures!