An Opossum Craft

There are more than 60 species of opossum in the world, although the only one found in the United States and Canada is the Virginia or common opossum. Also referred to as "possums," these scavenger marsupials grow to about 2.5 feet from snout to tail and "play dead" when threatened by predators. Create opossum crafts as a method of teaching children about these animals or as part of a series of art projects.

Paper

Create opossum masks. Cut a piece of card stock in a "V" shape to mimic the marsupial's pointed face; paint the mask with gray paint. Use white paint around the eyes and snout and paint the nose and inside of the ears pink. Punch holes in the sides of the mask; cut a piece of elastic and knot the ends through the holes. Other paper craft ideas for opossums include making puppets from a small paper lunch bag. Draw the opossum's face on the base of the bag and color the rest of the bag to represent its body.

Foam

Cut gray, pink and white foam pieces and glue them together to make a possum head and body; use googly eyes for the face. Attach a piece of Velcro to the back of the opossum and place it above a wall hook used for hanging keys or other small items. The hook will act as the possum's "tail." Another option is add a foam tail and attach the possums with Velcro to the edges of plain picture frames or cork boards.

Fabric

Ideas for fabric possum crafts include drawing a possum design on a plain pillow case. Use craft or old pillow stuffing as filler and sew up the open end. Sew pieces of gray, pink and white felt to form small opossums. Stuff them with a small amount of filler and glue small buttons or beads for the eyes. Sew a gold string loop to the top and use them for Christmas ornaments. Or use fabric paint to draw opossums on T-shirts or hoodies or embroider the designs on the clothing.

Clay

Form a small opossum figure from polymer clay to attach to a charm bracelet. Use a pin to make small holes on either side of the top of the possum and insert a jump ring to attach the charm to a bracelet. Or insert a head pin through the bottom of the clay figure and loop it around a jump ring to make a pendant to hang from a necklace.