Simple DIY after Easter toys

When I was an art teacher, plastic Easter eggs would always be donated to my art room after Easter. So what can you do with all of these leftover plastic Easter eggs? Over the years I collected several easy and fun projects for different age groups. Here are a few simple ones for your infant and toddler.

shaker eggs, magnetic egg chain, aroma eggs, and puzzle toybox to store them in

you will need
plastic Easter eggs
noisemaking filler such as beans, rice, popcorn kernels, lentils, nuts and bolts.
Milk container washed out and dried or a medium sized cardboard box – you can pick up a flat rate priority box at your local post office for free.
Cotton balls
A essential oils – must be safe scents for an infant or toddler so see my list below.
scissors or X-Acto blade
small round magnets
​hor glue gun with glue
Electrical tape
​sharpie

I had most of these items on hand, I know you can purchase most of these materials at a dollar store, the small magnets I purchased from target.

Egg storage toy puzzle box

you can use any recycle container or cardboard box to make your storage or puzzle toy with. I had a milk carton on hand, which worked great! I do recommend a recycled large drink container with a handle, as the handle proves very useful.
​after it was washed out and dried I was able to begin.

start by placing the bottom of a plastic egg somewhere on the container and trace with a sharpie.

this forms the holes that just fit the egg when the egg is placed into the container correctly. I put two holes on my container, you can put as many as you would like.

use your scissors or X-Acto blade to cut out the circles.

add a back flap where you can easily remove the eggs after your little one has gotten them in the container. I cut three sides of a square, leaving the bottom edge intact. This worked out perfectly, as the plastic is rigid enough that it will stay closed when I push the flap in word.

magnetic egg chain

these are so much fun for your little one to assemble and pull apart. The magnets make it magical for them, and lend the self to creating many fun and simple games.

After your hot glue gun has warmed up, begin bye opening a plastic egg, place a large glob of glue on a magnet and place the magnet inside the top of the egg. Repeat this process of gluing to the inside bottom of the egg.

continue this until you have magnetized all the eggs do you want to. Make sure the hot glue completely dries before you put the eggs back together.

​I double or triple magnets to some of the eggs to make them stronger.

Shut the egg. Begin your electrical tape so it over laps the Seaham evenly on the top and bottom.
​hold the top and bottom of the egg with one hand as you guide the tape around the scene with the other hand. Go around the egg twice, cut tape with scissors and you were done!

repeat this process on as many eggs as you would like, and your egg chain is complete!

shaker eggs

oh what fun musical shaker eggs can be, and how incredibly simple they are to make!

Find different feelings to make different noises. My four go-to's are corn kernels, lentils, small washers, and rice. These three items give you great tonal range. Place some of the filling in your eggs, and follow the tape directions above to seal the eggs shut.

aroma eggs

these eggs are a fun way to have your little one practice sniffing. I have to admit, I enjoy these eggs myself!
​when using a essential oils with little ones, it is very important to use a safe amount along with safe oils. Certain oils are not safe for children at different ages. Rule of thumb, the younger the child, the fewer oils are safe. Please reference the image of safe oil's for your one year old below for you proceed.
remember – never apply oils directly to your childs skin or food, and always used correct dilution ratio for their age.

place a single drop of one of the safe oils on a cotton ball. You can use different scents for different colored eggs. These oils can help calm, relax, assist with sleep, and smooth the nervous system of your one year old 🤗
do not place more than one drop on the cotton ball.
place the cotton ball with the oil facing the vent holes of the egg.
follow the tape directions above.

Enjoy!

If you created any of these fun easy projects, I would love to hear your comments and see your pictures posted to the Facebook page ❤️