Easy Easter and Spring Crafts Using Recycled Material
Bernadyn is a writer, blogger, and social media influencer. She writes for various publications while writing for her own blog.
Create A Fun Project by Recycling
Recycle and reuse items to make crafts with the kids. Things like toilet paper rolls can be turned into a fun project.
BNadyn
Honor Easter and Earth Day
Earth Day is April 22nd, just a couple days after Easter this year. Therefore, these Easter projects are perfect to honor Earth Day by using recycled material to make crafts and decorations while celebrating the Easter holiday.
Save Your Money for Easter and Save the Earth
Aside from the Easter celebration, Spring always reminds me of the gifts of nature, warm weather, soft, furry animals and fresh flowers blooming. It is a time that, to me, seems filled with hope and new beginnings. It is the season that kicks off the warm weather and the signal to spend more time outdoors with the kids to enjoy the sun and bright colors. When I am not outside, I like to celebrate the season and Easter holiday indoors. One of the ways to do that is to do crafts with the kids. They like to help decorate the house with their art work...and I do not mind because it is more sentimental and costs less than buying new décor!
For those who do not celebrate Easter, this season can still be a fun time to enjoy activities and make crafts with the kids...without frivolously spending on unnecessary items. Instead, use recycled material - a win-win for all!
Make Mini Easter Baskets Using Recycled Yogurt Cups
Recycle Items You Already Have for Crafts
Get Creative and Eco-Friendly with Easter Crafts
Making crafts and working on art projects with kids is fun and gives them something to do aside from watching TV or playing video games. It also helps stimulate their creative juices, works on their motor skills and encourages them to unleash their imagination. It may help you get your creativity juices flowing, too! It gives you a chance to teach them about whatever holiday you may be celebrating while working on the projects. Also, when you are using recycled material, you are being Eco-friendly while putting to use all that excess around the house instead of just throwing it out!
Scissors for the Kids
Use Newspaper to Make Craft Eggs and Bunnies
Cut cardboard box into shape of egg and cover with various paper (newspaper, construction paper, paper doilies, etc.). For the bunny: cut one small circle for head, one larger circle for body and two feet. Use hole puncher to cut out eyes.
BNadyn
Use Toilet Paper Tubes to Create A Family of Bunnies
Celebrating Easter
More Ways to Recycle on Easter
- Recycle plastic Easter eggs and Easter grass
- Recycle egg cartons - you can use them for more craft ideas and even to place small cupcakes like the ones in the photo below. These would be cute to give as gifts for kids or to another family on Easter!
- Reuse Easter baskets, (especially ones that are not only meant for Easter) for Halloween or for next Easter. If not, donate them instead of throwing them out. Reuse the traditional Easter baskets - like wicker baskets - at home: for craft supplies, as a fruit basket, to hold hand towels, etc.
Put These Mini Cupcakes Inside an Egg Carton
Make Your Own Easter Baskets with Shoe boxes
Use a shoe box to make an Easter basket. You can use it as house décor or as a centerpiece or decorate it really nice and sturdy for kids to use for the egg hunt.
BNadyn
Reuse What You Have At Home to Make Spring Decorations
In 2012, the Huffington Post reported through a survey that the total spending for consumers for Easter was expected to reach $16.8 billion for apparel, candy, food and decorations (Huff Post News and Trends).
If that is the case, you might as well recycle and save on decorations because many of these Easter crafts can be used for décor. These crafts are all simple to make and you can improvise using whatever you have readily available to you. As long as the kids have a fun time making them and learning about Easter and what that means to your own family, then that is all that matters!
Bunny Headband Using A Cereal Box
Use the sides of the cereal box to make this headband. Depending on the size of the child's head, you may need to use two sides. Measure the child's head, staple it closed and make the ears using the box so that they stand up straight.
BNadyn
Use These Crafts for Your Easter Party
Many of these craft projects can be used for an Easter party but also for other purposes:
- Party Favors
- Table seating
- Gifts for grandparents or other family members and friends
- Table setting during Spring season
- Table centerpieces
Daffodil in a Recycled Yogurt Cup
Make a Bunny Face
Use a popsicle stick, pipe cleaners and a pom pom to make this easy bunny face. Don't forget to add the bunny ears headband!
BNadyn
Make an Easter Card for Some-bunny Special
Some ideas to write on Easter cards:
- Have a hopping Easter
- Have an egg-citing Easter
- Wishing you a hoppy Easter
- Some bunny loves you
- Wishing you an egg-cellent Easter
- You're my special some-bunny
- I have a tweet for you
- A special tweet from me to you
Stop by my blog for more ways to recycle at home:
Hand Out Bunny Cards and Envelopes for A Special Some-bunny
I made these cards using oatmeal boxes, used wrapping paper and construction paper. Put cotton balls for tails and write a message or sign child's name. My daughter helped glue all of this - her favorite part of crafting!
BNadyn
Make these bunny envelopes using old envelopes from birthday and anniversary cards. Inspired by twigglemagazine.com
BNadyn
Get Egg-cited for Easter and Spring Crafts
My daughter made these Spring crafts at our church nursery. They said she loves doing crafts. The same goes for when she's at home - any time there is glue and paper involved, she is egg-cited!
BNadyn
Don't Forget Food Coloring Gel
Make Spring Crafts to Teach Kids About the Seasons
My daughter likes butterflies so I helped her make this one using the back of an oatmeal box, tissue paper and pipe cleaners for the antenna. She wanted to paint flowers at the bottom, giving it a true Spring feeling!
BNadyn
More Ways to Recycle Egg Cartons for Kids' Crafts
Many Ways to Recycle Egg Cartons
We go through a dozen eggs every week which means a lot of empty egg cartons. There are plenty of ways to reuse them, as I have been discovering.
- Use them as paint containers to separate colors and to control how much paint is used.
- Put glue in it and have kids use a paint brush, toothpick or their fingers instead of constantly squirting out glue from the bottle, which can be tough for the younger kids.
- Flip egg carton over and poke small holes on the bottom of it to keep food that are on sticks standing straight (like marshmallow pops or cake pops).
- When decorating cookies or cupcakes with sprinkles, pour small amounts of sprinkles into egg carton for kids to keep from pouring out too much from the container.
- Use egg cartons to hold cupcakes - good idea when bringing cupcakes somewhere or giving them as a gift
- Play counting games with the help of egg cartons.
- Endless craft ideas that use egg cartons: flowers, bugs, Easter, Spring, etc.
- Find more at sites like Pinterest.com
You can also drop them off at grocery stores like Publix that has a drop-off box for egg cartons.
Fingerprint Bunny
Use Leftover Paper and Scraps for Easter Grass
Wishing You an Egg-cellent Easter!
Whether you celebrate Easter, you can always do these crafts with kids to celebrate the season of Spring, which is my favorite season. Everything just seems more colorful, bright-spirited and happy. Spring is also a good time to do some Spring cleaning, re-organize and figure out what to do with things you have not touched in six months or six years! Make use of some of those items by doing crafts with the kids and teach them a couple facts about Spring or Easter.
Wishing you all a happy Spring and egg-cellent Easter!
©BNadyn 2014
Fill Your Easter Basket with Some Marshmallow Peeps
History of Easter Bunny
The Easter bunny originated from German immigrants when they arrived to the United States in the 1700s. They brought over their tradition of a hare that lays colored eggs. The hare was called "Oster Hayes" or "Oschter Haws." Children would make nests for it to lay its eggs in but over time, the Easter baskets replaced the nests and chocolate and candy became part of the tradition to receive on Easter from this Easter bunny.
Read more at History.com: Easter Symbols and Traditions.
More Fun Facts About Easter
Here are more things you may not know about Easter, which can also be found from the above article in History.com:
- "The largest Easter egg ever made was over 25 feet high and weighed over 8,000 pounds. It was built out of chocolate and marshmallow and supported by an internal steel frame."
- According to some sources, the tradition of decorating Easter eggs dates back to the 13th century and may have began as a way to mark the end of the period of penance and fasting.
- Easter is the best-selling candy holiday in America, following after Halloween.
- For the past decade, the marshmallow Peeps have been the top-selling non-chocolate candy.
You Might Also Like:
- Creative Eco-Friendly Tips and Ideas to Go Green In and Out of the Home
Being green helps save our planet and is a great way to live a more frugal lifestyle. This article shows you creative and easy ways to go green with these simple tips. - Easy Frugal Ideas for a Kid's Birthday Party
Hosting parties are a fast way to spend a lot of money. Here are tips and ideas to throw a thrifty but fun party for the kids on their birthday. - Time Management with Children
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Comments
Hopeloveee on April 19, 2014:
You too, and have a Happy Easter!
Bernadyn (author) from Jacksonville, Florida on April 19, 2014:
Thank you, have a wonderful weekend!
Hopeloveee on April 18, 2014:
Very cool! Thanks for sharing!
Bernadyn (author) from Jacksonville, Florida on April 17, 2014:
Hi, Chitrangada, thank you. Kids can learn plenty while working on arts and crafts and they are a lot of fun for them, too. My kids like getting a little messy and know it's okay while doing this! It's good to teach them to help the environment, also, while they are young. Thanks for reading, voting up and sharing. :)
Bernadyn (author) from Jacksonville, Florida on April 17, 2014:
Hello, Eddy, that's exciting to have your grandkids over and I think they'll enjoy these easy crafts! Thanks for sharing and enjoy the holiday with your family. :)
Bernadyn (author) from Jacksonville, Florida on April 17, 2014:
Hi, Sharon, yes, I agree, we don't need to spend so much money for these holidays. It really does help us get more creative when we look at how we can simply reuse other items and the kids don't care one way or the other. Thanks for reading! Enjoy the rest of your week. :)
Chitrangada Sharan from New Delhi, India on April 17, 2014:
All these ideas are so very creative and look beautiful. It's a good idea to use recycled materials for these projects. Good for the kids to learn and good for the environment too.
Thanks for sharing! Voted up and shared on HP!
Eiddwen from Wales on April 17, 2014:
What a wonderful hub ; so colourful with easy to follow instructions ;just in time too as our grandkids come to stay for Easter tomorrow.
Voted up and shared.
Eddy.
Sharon from Perth on April 16, 2014:
Great ideas for recycling for easter. To much money is spent on these things, we have to be more creative and this article should help.
Bernadyn (author) from Jacksonville, Florida on April 16, 2014:
That's a great idea, I was thinking about doing that! I do have another one I'd like to write about this week. I've been inspired since my little girl is so hands on now with making crafts since she began going to our church nursery. Thank you for the suggestion, I appreciate it. :)
Bill Holland from Olympia, WA on April 16, 2014:
I love the recycling angle to this craft hub. Perhaps that would be a great niche for you to write about...various craft projects using recycled items...I don't think I've seen others write about it. Just an idea.
