Egg Carton Flowers

Hi first graders and lovers of spring time....this is a perfect way to celebrate our earth, both by recycling (UPcycling, really) and by creating something bright, beautiful, and growing....FLOWERS! 

This will be a TWO week art lesson (2 art days, as we have art one day a week, during our normal school schedule).  The reason for this is mainly dry time it takes in between steps, as well as the fact that you'll be cutting a fair amount of cardboard, which takes time and effort.  If you are someone who works fast, I encourage you to make more than one flower, or even to experiment with other types of flowers, other than the kind I have here.🌹

Now let's get down to business... for this lesson, you'll need:
     scissors
     glue or tape
     paint or markers
     egg carton
     cardboard (optional)
     paper

The first thing we will do for this lesson is to cut apart your egg carton.  Start by cutting off the top.

Next, the little flap that holds your carton closed.

Then cut the carton (if your carton holds a dozen eggs) into three sections....little math for you here... you should have four eggs spaces in each section.

 A little science for you here...make sure you are cutting with the fulcrum of your scissors, when cutting cardboard, because you won't have to work as hard to get through that thick material!

When you're finished, it will be quite square looking, so I went and cut some little "V" shapes out of my carton, to make the "petals" a bit rounder.

If you've got a carton with a very tall separation between the egg spaces, cut that down a bit....

Next, to make the middle, I used some thin cardboard from a cereal box.  You could use paper, yarn, a little puffball, a button, a cottonball....so many different options...just be creative!

Paint (if you have some) or color with markers/crayons....   I chose to make some "seeds" in the middle, but it's up to you, as the artist.  You could paint it solid, or make a design, if you like.

I moved onto the stem, to let my center dry.  I happened to have some painted paper lying around that worked well for my stem.  If you don't have that, you could:

A. paint or color some paper

B. use construction paper

C. use a big straw

If you're using paper, cut a loooooong strip of it, about 2 or 3 inches wide.

Use a pencil to help you roll it into a long, skinny tube, for your stem.

 Tape or glue.  If you're using glue, you'll have to hold it still and count (like we learned in art class).  Or you could use hot glue, if you have some.

Next, I painted my egg carton petals, both front and back.  Again, design/paint however you like...could be a rainbow stripe or polka dot flower.

When it dries, you can glue your stem into the grooves of your carton, hold, and count, or apply pressure to keep your stem stuck.

Add leaves, if you want...you could even make a little flower pot, if you've got some extra time and materials!

And, boom!!  A beautiful flower, from "garbage".  Now that's what I call being resourceful.  I hope you had fun making your beautiful flowers.  I look forward to hearing from you soon!