Valentine's Day Teacher Gift

I turned a fun Earth Day project into a Valentine's gift the kids could make for their teachers. It was easy, fast, used things we have on hand, and except for tracing and cutting out of the red and white paper and the oven part, the project was done entirely by themselves.

What you need:

Muffin Mix
Mini muffin tin
egg carton*
construction paper
markers
glue
decorative paper (I used wrapping paper)
scissors
hole punch
string
tape

*I recommend getting a dozen eggs that come in a carton with a removable label so you have a blank egg carton underneith. It also makes for an instant template. See?

Step 1. Remove label from carton and use as a template for cutting out the decorative paper.

Step 2. Use the label again (minus the part that folds over the edge of the carton) to trace around on a piece of construction paper for the inside of the lid.

I wrote out the words for my seven year old on the back of the template to help him be more aware of the amount of room he had to fit all the words.

Step 3. Glue the decorative paper into the lid and let dry. We used Elmer's glue for the top and tape for the inside, but I'm sure you could glue the construction paper on as well.

Step 4. Add any additional decorations your child comes up with. We did simple hearts because our paper was 'busy' enough.

Step 5. Make a batch of muffins - One box of muffin mix made 24 mini muffins - the perfect amount for the two cartons we made.

Step 6. After the muffins cool transfer them to the carton and secure with a piece of string/cord/ribbon. We added a construction paper tag that reads:
Baked with love by _______

What fun things have you done with egg cartons? (I do a scavenger hunt program for our park in the summer using them so we never ever get rid of them. I have at least 20 of them waiting for a second life and would love to hear your ideas!)