Under the Sea - DIY At-Home Project

This is a fun project for young kids to work on with a grown up, or for older kids to do by themselves. These sea critters are made from an egg carton. So, hold on to your next empty one and recycle it in this creative way before you toss it!

Supplies:
Cardboard egg carton
Paints or markers
Paintbrushes
Googly eyes
White glue or hot glue
Scissors
Paperclips
Ribbon or tissue paper
Glitter or glitter pen
Paint the bottom of a cardboard egg carton.

If you choose, use a glitter pen (or Elmer's glue and glitter), to create stripes on some carton cups (for the clam shell).

After it dries, cut the egg cups from the carton. (Note, if you are making a Sea Star, then carefully cut out a star shape from the main egg carton.)

Decide which critter you want each cup to be:
Octopus - attach strands of ribbon or strips of tissue paper to the underside of a cup to act as octopus arms
Crab - stick two paperclips out from the underside (where they are glued on) to represent pincers
Clam shell - glue two glitter-striped egg carton cups together
Sea Star - if you cut this shape out from the egg carton, then you're good to go. If you forgot, then you can just attach the round cup shape to a star background cut from paper of the same color.
Fish or Shark - glue two carton cups together. Attach small paper triangles to either side to act as fish fins or one to the top to act as a shark fin. Then glue a paper trapezoid to the back for a tail fin.

Young kids should use white glue, while older kids and adults may prefer fast-acting hot glue.

Attach googly eyes to give each critter life and personality.

Enjoy!