How to Make a Cardboard Elephant from Recycled Materials | Easy DIY Craft

Posted by Raminta Sorokin on April 10, 2026

🐘 Creating a Charming Cardboard Elephant Craft

Crafting with recycled materials is a wonderful way to spark creativity while being kind to the environment. Today, I’m sharing a delightful project that transforms everyday materials into an adorable elephant. This craft requires just a few simple supplies you likely already have at home.

👉 Full tutorial on my YouTube channel:

Building the Elephant’s Body

You can use my stencil (you’ll find it at the end of the page), or draw your own. Another option is to crumple newspaper or other paper to create the base shape.

I created a stencil to have a solid foundation to start from. After gluing all the cardboard pieces together, I began shaping the body using cardboard from a toilet paper roll. This material has the perfect thickness for building form.

I started by tearing the tube into long strips and wrapping them around the cardboard base. From there, I used strips of different lengths to build up the body. Use real elephant photos as a reference to guide the proportions. I used hot glue during this stage.

Creating the Head and Trunk

Use smaller pieces of toilet paper roll cardboard to shape the face. Once the basic shape is complete, cover the entire piece with packing paper (newspaper works too). I used wood glue because I had plenty, but school glue works just as well.

After it dries, add the eyes. I used half pearls. Build up the eye area and facial features with additional cardboard, then cover everything again with packing paper.

Next, use wiping paper (napkins or other thin paper) to refine the details. Add eyelids and create ridges along the trunk using this paper. Cover the rest of the face as well for a more natural texture.

For the tail, glue a few pieces of cardboard together, attach them to the body using hot glue. Use packing paper to connect to the body and cover with wiping paper.

Adding Details

For the toenails, I used thin cardboard shaped into upside-down “U” forms—four on the front legs and three on the back legs.

Take time to study an elephant’s body and adjust the shape as needed by adding or removing material.

At this stage, you can begin painting. Since elephant skin isn’t smooth, I covered the entire body with wiping paper to create texture. For deeper wrinkles, you can carefully use a craft knife.

For the tusks, I used air-drying foam clay. However, it becomes quite brittle when dry—I accidentally broke mine a few times during a photoshoot. I recommend using air-hardening modeling clay instead for better durability.

Painting

I started by covering the entire elephant with diluted black acrylic paint. Then I gradually added white and a bit of brown to build up the color.

Keep in mind that acrylic paint dries darker than it appears when wet.

I used a dry-brushing technique to layer lighter tones over the surface. After the first layer dried, I added more white to the mix and repeated the process. Then I applied a brown wash to add warmth, followed by a greyish-brown layer for depth.

For the eyes, I started with acrylic paint markers and then added details with regular acrylic paint. I used reference photos of real elephant eyes. To make them look shiny and lifelike, finish with clear nail polish or high-gloss acrylic varnish.