A couple weeks ago it had been windy for days on end. We were cooped up in the house and I decided we were going to get crafty.  In high school, I was a Recreation Leader and we did all sorts of crafting and played games to our hearts content during the spring and summer. Kids love to craft and when you’re in the comfort of you’re own home it’s even better! Why not reuse some plastic water bottles and make this quick, simple and fun eco-craft!

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Lava Lamp

Supplies:

Empty plastic bottles

Cooking or Vegetable Oil

Funnel

Water

Food Coloring

Masking Tape or Glue

Directions:

Start by taking off the label. Using a funnel, fill the plastic bottles 3/4’s of the way up with oil. Take a measuring cup and fill it with water using the same measurement for the oil. In the measuring cup, have kids add a couple drops of food coloring. Take funnel again and pour colored water into plastic bottle filled with oil. Voila’  Make sure to secure the cap with either glue or masking tap. So far, we’ve haven’t had to resort to using either the glue or masking tape. Make sure to keep a watchful eye on the kiddos though.

Once the kids are done- they can shake it up and watch the oil and water separate and conglomerate. My son thought it was pretty darn fascinating. He know keeps it on top of his kitchen and turns it upside down every now again!

It’s an easy way to craft at home without spending a lot of money. Do you remember saving the salad dressing bottle when you were a kid so you could take it to class and fill it up pretty with beans for your Mom?

Or saving up all the toilet paper rolls and making binoculars or pencil holders out of them.  A quick way to entertain your baby is to put a few pebbles, beans, buttons etc. into the plastic bottle and let them shake it up or use as a rattle. The smaller plastic bottles work best for infants (with supervision, of course!). The ideas are endless!

Plastic water bottles are certainly an item we have enough of lying around (pun intended) so why not make extra use of them and turn them into eco-craft pieces! It’s craft season so get the glue, scissors, and whatever materials handy and most importantly don’t forget the kids!!

What do you use for green creative activities? Share your eco-craftiness with us!

[This post was written by Leslie Quigley.]