When I was younger I was so interested in snails. I used to follow them around and see where they would go. And I thought it was so funny that they moved super slow. Now that I’m older, I don’t really love to find these little critters in my garden. But what I will make an exception for are these colorful paper snails. Aren’t they cute? With a few basic supplies, and a little coiling technique, you can make a whole family of snails in no time. Fun fact: a group of snails is called a rout or a walk. Learn something new every day!

Coiled Paper Snail Craft

Supplies for Coiled Paper Snails:

• Strips of colored construction paper (ours are 1.5″x12″)
• Stapler, glue, or tape
• Coloring materials (markers, pastels, crayons, etc.)
• Small hole punch
• Pipe cleaners, cut into 3″ pieces
• Pencils
• Green construction paper for leaves (optional)

Start by making the snail’s head. Fold a small piece of the paper strip under and secure it in place with stapler, glue, or tape. This will create a small loop for the snail’s head.

Time to decorate your snail’s shell! You can color the top of the paper (inside of the shell), as well as the bottom of the paper strip (outside of the shell). Make your snail as colorful as you like!

Once your snail is all decorated, you can start coiling the paper into a shell. With the snail right-side-up, lay a pencil on top of the paper strip and roll the paper around it.

Pull the pencil out and adjust your coil as tight or loose as you like. Now your snail has a fancy spiral shell!

The finishing touch for your snail is a pair of tentacles. Punch two small holes in the top of the head loop. Thread a piece of pipe cleaner, about 3″ long, down and up through the holes. Adjust and curl the pipe cleaner tentacles. What a cute little pet snail that you won’t mind creeping around your plants!

As you can see, my girls decided to make some leaves for their snails to crawl and nibble on. They also used skinny strips of paper to make some tiny baby snails. So cute!

If you like to pair a few picture books with your crafting, like we do, we recommend these two snail tales: The Biggest House in the World by Leo Lionni and The Story of Fish and Snail by Deborah Freedman. Enjoy!

SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave