One of the benefits of recycling is that some items like egg trays turn out to be good sources of craft materials. Get egg-cited about bugs, flowers, banks and building blocks in this first part of a two part series. Avoid using egg cartons with egg spillage and take care of when using the hot glue gun.
Egg-streme Bugs
Younger kids can now make cute caterpillars and lovely ladybugs to play with.
What You’ll Need:1 egg carton; paint (red, green, black); paintbrushes; glue; googly eyes (taobao or amazon China); pipe cleaners (black and brown); white tissue paper; craft needle or push pin; scissors; markers; hot-glue gun, tissue paper (optional)
Steps
- Bugs can be made from one egg cup or from several cups cut in a row.
- Cut off the top of the carton, leaving just the bottom.
- Separate individual egg cups or cut two or three egg cups in a row.
- Paint the outside of the cups with solid colors. Paint a few individual egg cups red to create single lady bugs, paint two cups black to create beetles, or paint three cups green to make a caterpillar.
- Once the paint has dried, use markers to add details (such as dots and lines).
- Then glue two googly eyes to the front of an egg cup of each color for the head, and cut different lengths of pipe cleaners to use for legs or antennae.
- Use a craft needle or a pushpin to punch holes in the cups where you want to insert the pipe cleaners.
- Thread the pipe cleaners and secure the ends by bending or twisting them inside the cup.
- You can also cut wings out of tissue paper and hot-glue them to the finished bugs.
Egg-stra Penny Dish
In the car or on top of the washing machine keep your spare change from being lost with these simple bowls.
What You’ll Need: 1 egg carton; scissors; paint (two colors); paintbrushes; scrap paper
Steps
- Cut off the top half of the egg carton, leaving just the bottom with the cups.
- Separate an individual egg cup.
- Paint the inside and outside of the cup with two different colors, or paint the entire cup one color.
- Once the paint has dried, place the dish in the perfect spot, like a hallway table or dresser top, for collecting pennies and other loose change.
- When the egg cup is full, your child can add up the change and see how much has been collected.
Egg-citing Color Match Game
This activity livens up color theory which can sometimes seem dull.
What You’ll Need: 1 egg carton; scissors; paint (red, yellow, orange, blue, green, purple, black); paintbrushes
Steps
- Cut off the top half of the egg carton, leaving just the bottom.
- Select one color for each cup and paint the inside of each egg cup until there are 12 different colors, or repeat a few favorite hues.
- While the egg tray is drying, have a scavenger hunt around the house and let your child search for and collect small items of various colors.
- Then match each item with an egg cup of the same color and place the items inside. Have a race to see how quickly your child can place the correct item with its coordinating cup.
Eggs-ceptional Flowers
Decorate a room with beautiful flowers that will never wilt.
What You’ll Need: 1 egg carton; scissors; paint (red, yellow, orange, purple); paintbrushes; scrap paper; hot-glue gun; 1-inch pompoms; craft needle or pushpin; green pipe cleaners; vase or ribbon (optional)
Steps
- Cut off the top half of the egg carton, leaving just the bottom.
- Cut and separate one individual egg cup and trim the outside edges; they can be rounded and smooth or pointed and jagged.
- Select a color of paint and coat the entire cup, inside and out.
- Once the paint has dried, use a craft needle or a pushpin to create a hole at the base of the egg cup.
- Thread a green pipe cleaner through the flower and bend it inside the cup to secure it.
- Use a hot- glue gun to cover the center of the flower with a pompom.
- Continue cutting and painting egg cup flowers (as many as you want) to create a beautiful bouquet you can place in a vase, or tie them together with a ribbon.
Sourced from Parents.com
Photos courtesy of skiptomylou.org, dltk-kids.com, happyclippings.com and mommysavers.com
