EGG CARTON TURTLE CRAFT FOR KIDS!

Here is an Egg Carton Turtle Craft for kids, that’ has been made from your ordinary egg-boxes!

How to create a Turtle using recycled Egg Cartons!

In this project, I’ll show you how to make a turtle using egg cartons.

A fun and easy way to recycle your throw-out material while learning about aquatic life!

While the tutorial focuses on egg carton turtle craft for kids, those with plastic bottles instead of egg cartons can easily adapt the craft using a similar approach.

I will show an example of this at the end of the demo.

WHY TURTLES?

I chose to craft a turtle because while we were on holiday in Cyprus, we went on a short cruise to discover the history of our location.

Part of the sea trip was to an area where you would find turtles.

ENGAGE WITH THE TURTLES!

Once we arrived at the turtle’s location we had the opportunity to swim with them, and although I didn’t personally jump in, it was a great experience.

We had an opportunity to watch this beautiful gentle creature that had surfaced to eat lettuce and unbeknown to the turtle, was surrounded by a welcoming crowd!

This is what I filmed with my smartphone from the boat. You can see people swimming around the turtle while it feeds on lettuce.

TURTLE FACTS!

Click the link to find out more.

Turtles have adorned our planet for hundreds of years with their magnificent presence.

What secrets do they hold? Here are some interesting facts about turtles.

EASY TURTLE CRAFT!

This experience prompted me with an idea for my next project.

CHECK-OUT RECYCLING!

So I looked for some recycling material that would be a suitable resource to craft a turtle, and I came across a large egg carton and thought oddly enough, it would make a great ‘Egg Carton Turtle craft for kids’

Before we begin, I want to bring to your attention this short video that shows how we must play a bigger part in protecting our marine life!

LOOKING AFTER TURTLES!

These beautiful creatures face great perils to their livelihood within our oceans! This is from discarded plastics and fishing nets! As shown in this video.

WHY EGG CARTONS?

The same applies to all the egg cartons that are discarded time and time again!

We would be recycling egg cartons with a DIY project an ‘Egg Carton Turtle Craft for Kids’ By doing so, we are helping reduce throw-outs and transform egg cartons into fun kids’ projects!

LOOK-A-LIKE!

The shape of the egg cups would resemble the large shell of the turtle, and when it’s painted in shades of green, there will be a close resemblance to the textured turtle shell.

STEP-BY-STEP DIY EGG CARTON CRAFT!

Within this project, I will show you a step-by-step guide on how to craft a simple egg carton turtle, that would take no time to complete!

ARE YOU READY?

RESOURCES.

2 X 15 cup Egg-carton boxes. (only 1 on display).
Acrylic paints, greens, yellow, orange and white.
Different-sized paint brushes.
Paint plate, disposable gloves/newspaper.
2 X scissors, large and small.
Stapler/double-sided tape and hot wax/gun (not shown).
2 googly eyes/Sample turtle.
A toy turtle for reference.

LET’S GET GOING?

1) Take the 15 egg cup egg carton, and cut away unwanted parts like the flaps and trim down the pointed seperators.

2) Round up the corners and try to follow a sample turtle if you have one on hand.

3) Shape box all the way around leave one cup at one end for the head.So the middle section is 5 cups long and about 3.5 cups on each side.

4) From the flaps cut 4 flippers. 2 like wide feet and 2 like flippers, and a couple of rounded head shapes.

5) Staple them on each corner or use hot wax to secure them. To build the shape up cut another egg carton a bit shorter and glue on top. Layer the head section up to 3 times, glue 1 on the underside to form the jaw.

6) Here are 3 cups for the head layered on top of each other, and middle section too.

8) This is this finished turtle resembling the small sample.

9) Now you are ready to paint. Mix up similar colours to the sample and paint all over.

10) Here is the finished egg carton turtle up-right next to the sample to show the similarties.

12) To the side to see elevation of turtle shell.

BABY TURTLES!

An extension of this project is to craft baby turtles, which can be easily done using single egg cups, instead of a whole egg carton.

HERE’S THE ADD-ON!

So I had a go and put a few together for you to see, including these fun baby turtles too!

It’s more or less the same technique cutting parts away, painting and glueing on the googly eyes.

So follow through, as this could be a project on its own or a turtle family!

1)Take any egg carton and go one line in from left or rght and cut out 2 joined egg cups.

3) When you turn it over you can see the two pointed thongs.

5) Take a black felt-tip pen and draw the shape of two legs of either side of the bottom cup and extend to the top cup a circular shape.

6) When you view it from above, you can see the outline of a head and 2 legs on either side.

7) Cut out the turtle shaping the four legs and head, and from another part of the egg carton cut 1 egg cup trimming it down so it will become the turtles shell.

8) When you place it on it’s back as so it will fit easily where there is a slit on one side.

10) In total I made four in the same way.

11) I painted them up dotting the shell for variation.

12) This is the turtle and her family of four baby turtles.

Click on image to expand it.

This is a simple project that requires just a few resources.

So save your egg cartons because you can craft as many baby turtles, as you like, and once you start there is no stopping you!

SOME TIPS!

SHARP SCISSORS/OR TEAR

Egg cartons are made from composite material, so the texture is very soft. Using a small sharp pair of scissors will do the job, or instead, tear in places.

ROUND THE CORNERS.

When shaping the box cut in a curved motion around the corners, where you may need to cut the cups in half to get the right shape.

FOR PARTS.

Use any flaps or parts of the egg carton box to cut out the 4 flippers.

BUILD UP.

Cut and glue on another egg carton in the middle section for the turtle’s shell.

MAKING THE HEAD.

To make a raised turtle head layer 3 egg cups to form this, glue together with hot wax.

GOOGLY EYES.

Glue on the googly eyes with hot wax, on either side of the head. Then the turtle is ready for painting.

MIX UP COLOURS.

Make up your turtle colour by matching up your acrylic colours to the sample turtle that you are using for reference. Once one layer is dry overlap different shades of green, orange and cream to give a realistic finish. You can add water to spread the paint further, although this may indirectly weaken the egg carton material.

FINS AND PAINT.

After the fins are painted, they may soften up so you need to be careful they don’t tear off.

QUICK RECAP!

There you have it. This is a straightforward project and once all parts are stuck together you can take your time painting the turtle a colour and texture that reflects it.

A PRECAUTION!

You cannot submerge this turtle, or play with it vigorously as it will fall apart, so it’s mainly a showpiece, and a representation of how you can recycle egg-boxes into a fun egg carton craft for kids.

A PLASTIC BOTTLE TURTLE!

As promised in the intro, here is an example of a plastic bottle turtle, that could be an alternative way to craft a turtle.

Check out below how I crafted it!

1) Find a small plastic bottle clean it up and remove lables.

2) Cut about 3/4 up from the bottom and with black felt-tip draw the head, two legs on either side and bottom of bottle.

4) On one side two legs slightly going at an angle, and the same on the other side.

6) Once you have cut it out this is what you should have. Bend the legs and head back and press down to create the turtle on four legs.

7) Decide on your acrylic colours and paint up your turtle. Stick on the googly eyes with hot wax.

8) Here is one plastic bottle turtle prompt up.

YOU CHOOSE!

You can now choose which of the three projects you prefer to craft. Judge which ones your kids would like to make and go with the ones you can gather recycling for.

Whether it’s Egg Cartons or Plastic Bottles, you can whip up some super turtles!

MORE FUN GAMES AND ACTIVITIES!

I came across some quick fun turtle ideas that could be an addition to the turtle theme!

CHECK THEM OUT!

Here is a nice activity that your kids will enjoy. It’s a Resin Rock Turtle, that your kids can paint, and then display inside or outside.

It comes with 6 vivid acrylic paints, a paintbrush and instructions. Your kids will have fun deciding how or what to paint on the turtle.

This activity will help build their confidence and encourage their creativity!

Check it out at KIDLY.

Hey there, when you click on links in this post and you make a purchase, I may earn a small commission that l can use towards resources (other than throw-outs) for project making within my website😀

(affliate disclosure)

OR…….

Baker Ross offers these cute turtle kits, where kids can create personalised keyrings. Embellishments within the kit to decorate are self-adhesive, so no glue is required. Attach them to your kid’s school bags so they can recognize them at a glance! Or have them dangle wherever you like!

Or your kids can construct these wooden ocean creatures, one of which is a turtle, as desk tidy pots. Once finished they can colour them up however they like. (in this kit paints or pens are not included)

For Art Resources Baker Ross is the place to visit, jump in and check them out!

TO CONCLUDE!

I hope you have enjoyed these projects!

EGG CARTONS AND PLASTIC BOTTLES!

The main material you need is egg cartons, for the main project, other than that ‘plastic bottles’ would work too!

RECYCLE, MAKE AND LEARN!

Children will be responsible for saving their recycling and up-cycling it into fun turtle projects! At the same time, they will learn about aquatic life, and how they look, move and live in our oceans.

SAFE-GUARDING MARINE LIFE!

They will also learn about looking after our marine life, and think before they dump their rubbish!

So hold on to your egg cartons as you can make great ‘Egg Carton Craft for Kids!

Here’s another turtle, lizard, like project, a challenge for those who are into Dinosaurs!!!

4 thoughts on “EGG CARTON TURTLE CRAFT FOR KIDS!”

Tom says:

October 21, 2024 at 5:16 am

Hey Julia,

I have shared this article with my two friends who have two young boys and they loved it.

They are going to keep the next bunch of egg boxes they have when they’re finished with them and see if they can create turtles with the kids. I am looking forward to seeing them and how much fun they had making them.

If they get into it and do end up creating turtles, or maybe something else too then I will take pictures and send them on to you.

Thank you for sharing and keep up the amazing work.

All the best,

Tom

1. Julia says:
  
  October 21, 2024 at 9:27 am
  
  Hey Tom, love that please do. I am going to use egg boxes for another project coming up next!
  An egg box pumpkin and family! Well something along those lines. So keep an eye out for that! Sorry sounds a bit Halloweeny lol!
  I would love to see what your friends kids make and I will definately post them as an update!
  A big THANKS for your super comment and sharing my project, I think it’s great for kids to be aware about recycling
  and how they can up-cycle junk into fun activities and hold on to them!
  
Micahel G says:

November 10, 2024 at 9:23 pm

This is an awesome idea to reuse paper egg cartons instead of throwing them away. My Grandchildren will be trying this while visiting this holiday season. I am busy saving egg cartons as we speak.

Also, keen idea to include Turtle facts within the article. They are gentle creatures for sure. We take for granted the effects of tossing our plastics around not taking into account how it may affect another creature.

I will be bookmarking this page to return. I am always in search of things to keep the kiddos busy!

1. Julia says:
  
  November 11, 2024 at 10:35 am
  
  Hi Michael,thanks for your super comment and loving that you are saving your egg cartons and will give this activity a go with your grandkids!
  Having had the experience to see these beautiful creatures, had prompted me to do a craft project about them, at the same time this prompted me to touch upon how we can further protect turtles and other marine life from mindless dumping of everyday use of plastics!
  I am glad you got alot out of this post, and show your gandkids how they can re-use their throw-outs and up-cycle them into a fun project!
  I appreciate your feedback!
  Julia.😊