How to Make Crafts Out of Recycled Items

One way to teach your children about recycling is to show them how items found in your household can be reused. Craft products always grab a child's attention so you can take the recycled items and create something new and exciting. Cardboard toilet paper rolls, for example, make kazoos for playing music. Cardboard egg cartons can be transformed in to cute ladybugs.

Things You'll Need:

Newspaper
Empty toilet paper tube
Paint
Paint brush
Music note stickers
Wax paper
Rubber band
Scissors
Empty egg carton
Black pom poms
Glue
Google eyes
Black pipe cleaners

Toilet Paper Kazoo:

Step 1:
Lay out a few sheets of newspaper and set your empty toilet paper tube on it.

Step 2:
Choose a paint color for your kazoo and paint the outside of your toilet paper roll. Almost any paint brush will do, but a wide foam paint brush might get the job done faster.

Step 3:
Wait for the paint to dry and then add some music note stickers to the outside of the kazoo.

Step 4:
Cut a piece of wax paper to fit over one end of your toilet paper roll. Use a rubber band to hold it over that end.

Step 5:
Make noises in the open end to play your kazoo.

Egg Carton Lady Bugs

Step 1:
Cut your empty egg carton in to the 12 individual cups. Flip your egg cups upside down.

Step 2:
Paint each ladybug. Ladybugs are usually red, but you can make each ladybug a different color if you want.

Step 3:
Wait for the paint to dry and then paint black spots on the individual cups. Ladybug's have black spots on their bodies.

Step 4:
Glue a black pom pom on the end of each cup after the spots have dried. This is the ladybug's head.

Step 5:
Glue a pair of google eyes to the black pom pom face.

Step 6:
Cut your black pipe cleaners in to 1-inch strips. Glue two strips to the head of the pom pom to signify the ladybug's antenna.

Tips:
If you don't have any music note stickers for your kazoo, you can paint them on.

If regular glue doesn't hold the pipe cleaners in place, try a hot glue gun.