Make these oyster reef treasure boxes with recycled egg cartons.
This egg carton treasure box celebrates the oyster reef! An oyster reef is a place where see animals find food, shelter and protection from predators. Oyster reefs also play an important role in the environment by filtering and cleaning the water. This oyster treasure box comes complete with friendly oysters, a sea worm, skillet fish, mudcrab and pearls!
Supplies you will need:
1 Egg carton
1 Chenille stick (any color)
2 Poms (any color)
5 Sets of wiggle eyes, plus 1 for the fish (any color)
Brown and orange construction paper
Bottle cap (to trace)
Blue and purple glitter (any color will do)
Brown and black markers
Sponge brush
Scissors
Glue
Ruler
Directions:
Trim the edges of the egg carton where it closes. Then cut the egg carton in half. Now you will have two halves. Save the second half.
Cut the lid off the second half and turn it over. Place it like a lid over the base of the first half of the carton, as seen in the photo. The bumps of the egg holders will be the oysters on the oyster reef. Tape the pieces together. Use the brown marker to draw wavy vertical lines across each oyster. Then use the black marker to draw eyes. You can use wiggle eyes on half of the oysters to show some are awake and others are asleep.
At this point you can decorate the treasure box with glitter. Brush on clear glue with a sponge brush at the corners and different spots all over the box. The idea is to guild it rather than glitter the entire box. Then pour glitter onto the spots. You can place paper underneath to save the excess glitter (You may want to skip this step and use glitter glue).
Next, for the sea worm, fold the chenille stick in half, add wiggle eyes, and curl it around an oyster.
Then, for the crab and fish, cut circles out of the brown and orange construction paper, about 1 1/4 inch. I used a bottle cap as a template to trace around for each circle. Using the orange paper, cut out a triangle and glue to the back of the orange circle for the fish. Then cut three legs, about two inches long, out of the brown paper, crisscross them and glue or tape to the back of the brown circle for the crab. You can trim the front legs of the crab to form the pincers. Add eyes to both and tape or glue to the box. Lastly, add the Poms to represent the pearls on the reef.
I hope you enjoy making these oyster treasure boxes with your kids!
Oyster reefs are featured in my book, Olly’s Treasure. Watch the book trailer below. You can also find lesson plans, puzzles and crafts here.
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