Easter Craft: Egg Shell Pencil Holder

This pencil holder is seriously egg-cellent!

Submitted by
Kayla Chong

Have your kid make this pencil holder to house all of his drawing utensils and you might never accidentally sit on a purple marker in your best pair of white pants again.

An empty can:
A great excuse to serve Chef Boyardee tonight!
Hardboiled and colored eggs:
This is a great craft to use up all those post-Easter and Passover eggs. Or you can use it as an excuse to dye eggs any time of the year.
A large paper plate
Paintbrush
Glue
Waxed paper
Paper plate
A hard work surface:
Like your kitchen table.
Sandpaper or a nail file
Embellishments:
Rhinestones, glitter, buttons, ribbon, etc.

Let the kids color a big batch of hardboiled eggs. Use a couple of drops of plain old food coloring in a cup of water with a teaspoon of vinegar added for each color.
Lay down a sheet of wax paper to protect your work surface. Just because your kitchen table has been dribbled on, scribbled on and unceremoniously gouged to pieces doesn't mean it has to stand even more abuse.
Help your kid shell the eggs, saving the shells and tossing or gobbling up the hardboiled eggs. (Deviled Eggs, anyone?)
Prepare the can. Remove the lid completely and clean it out thoroughly. Smooth out any jagged edges with a little piece of sandpaper or a nail file.
Have your kid squirt out a big dollop of glue onto a paper plate and use the paintbrush to paint a thick layer of glue all over the can, covering it completely.
Next, help your kid crush and scatter the eggshells over the wax paper. You'll want to aim for keeping the colored side of the shells down, but it's fine if some of the colored bits are showing, too.
Then have him roll the can in the shells, creating a cool mosaic pattern. The can will probably still have "bald spots," so have your kid use the paint brush to dab on a little more glue in the spots you need it and then press on some additional eggshells to cover them.
Let it dry.
Have your kid glue embellishments or ribbons on top of the eggshells.
Finally, get him to scout around the house for pens, pencils, markers and crayons to fill up the can. Then, stay tuned for your child's next great artistic creation. (Yes, doodling and scribbling count).