Try this quick and easy recycled egg carton shrink-it cross
necklace kid’s craft at summer camps, vacation bible schools and more.
Summer is in full swing and it’s time for summer camp and
vacation bible school crafting. This
recycled egg carton cross necklace is easy and costs practically nothing to
make so you will be able to make this craft on a budget!
Did you know that you could shrink egg cartons with number
(6) recycle symbol in an oven or toaster oven? And the shape shrinks hard and
is thick as a nickel? You can make them
in all sorts of shapes and use them for necklaces, zipper pulls, hair ornaments
and more! And the best part is that many
egg cartons come in colors so you don’t even have to paint the shapes. I found white, yellow, and green. Today I’m making a crucifix in yellow, but
you can make it in any color you like.
You can even paint or color the white with permanent markers.
Materials:
·
Number 6 Egg carton in yellow
·
Scissors
·
Oven or toaster oven set to 350 degrees
·
Aluminum foil cover cookie sheet
·
Metal spatula
·
Needle nosed pliers
·
Jump rings
·
Rat tail ribbon
·
Paper hole punch
RECYCLED EGG CARTON CROSS NECKLACE
1.
The first thing you need to do is make sure your
egg carton has a 6 symbol somewhere on it.
Number 6 egg cartons are the only ones that will work.
2.
Next, cut out the egg holder portion. Each egg holder will make a cross.
3.
Now cut four equal sections up to the base of the
egg holder.
4.
Fold down each section flat. Once you fold all four sections down, trim up
each section into a rectangular shape, making one longer than the other
three. You have the cross made.
5.
Use the paper hole punch to make a hole in the
top of the cross. This will shrink along
with the cross
6.
Place the prepared shape on a cookie sheet lined
with aluminum foil and place in a 350-degree oven for just a few minutes. The shape will begin to curl but will soon
shrink and lie flat. When it completely
shrunk, remove from the oven and immediately press with the spatula. You will be able to pick up your cross in
just a few seconds and at this point you can trim up any ragged pieces.
 |
| In this photo you can see how it shrinks |
 |
| It shrinks thick and hard |
7.
Use a needle nosed pliers to open a jump ring by
twisting rather than pulling apart and insert through the hole in the top of
the cross. Close the jump ring in the
same manner.
8.
Cut a length of rat-tail ribbon, thread it
through the jump ring and knot the ends together.
