Recycling Projects: Easter Egg Fireflies

My family never got into decorating real eggs for Easter. It takes time, and I was usually bored after the second one. We didn’t hide those eggs, we just decorated the kitchen table with them for a little bit and then ate them. I was all about the hunts. I love Easter egg hunts. I still love them, even though I’m eighteen years old.

Plastic Easter eggs are awesome, because you don’t have to spend all that time painting them, and unlike hard boiled eggs, you can stuff them with goodies. Pocket change, candy, hints for a scavenger hunt, and if you’re lucky, maybe a five or ten dollar bill.

But of course… plastic is not biodegradable and not good at all for the environment. I couldn’t find any specific numbers online, but I think it’s safe to say that we go through a LOT of plastic Easter eggs each spring. And, like most “disposable” items, I’m sure more people throw out their plastic eggs than not.

So, what can you do with all of those eggs you now have laying around? Inevitably, some of them broke. You could recycle the busted ones and save the rest for next year (hopefully you’ll remember you have them before you go out and buy more), you could take them to a thrift shop, you could donate them…

Or, you could repurpose them into something new and fun. I found this project and thought it would be perfect for the month after April. I hope I caught you before you threw them out.

 Easter Egg Firefly Toys/Flashlight

Supplies Needed:

Plastic Easter eggs
Flameless LED tealights (3 pack for a dollar at Dollar Tree)
Pipe cleaners
Duct tape
Scissors
Nail and hammer (can be substituted with glue)
Paint and paint brush/ permanent markers

Steps:

1. Open egg, insert tealight, close egg.

2. Gently tap three holes into each side of the egg using the hammer and nail to insert legs, and then two holes on top of the egg close to one end. Please supervise or help your children with this step. If it is too difficult, use glue instead.

3. Insert pipe cleaners into holes to make six legs and two antennae.

4. Using scissors, cut wing shapes from the duct tape and place them onto your bug’s back. You can use other materials besides duct tape to make wings, such as paper, but duct tape is more durable.

5. Using paint or permanent markers, draw a face on your lightning bug. If you use paint, allow to dry.

6. When you’re ready to use, open up your bug and turn on your tealight!

Your Easter egg lightning bugs will make great and inexpensive toys, flashlights, nightlights, gifts for younger ones, outdoor decorations, and décor for your child’s bedroom, all while reusing something that may have otherwise been thrown out.

Enjoy! Remember, Viridorari wants to know how your project went! Send in pictures of your recycling project, and they will be posted on the next edition of “Recycling Projects for Kids.” You can email me your pictures at viridorari@yahoo.com. A Viridorari viewer sent in pictures of his apple gift box project. See them here.

Source and pictures: http://matsutakeblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/homemade-toy-fireflies.html