Cascarones are a time-honored Mexican tradition enjoyed at fiestas and Easter celebrations across North America. The vibrant eggs are cracked over a child’s head, showering them with confetti or sometimes a surprise toy. Today, many of these eggs contain glitter, mylar or other plastic components that are unsafe for wildlife and contribute to plastic pollution. Here is an eco-friendly way to keep this beautiful tradition alive in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way!
Gather Your Supplies
1 dozen eggs
Natural non-toxic dye or watercolors
A handheld hole punch in whatever shape you like
An assortment of leaves
School glue
Prepare Your Egg Shells
Use a spoon to gently tap the smaller end of the egg until it cracks. Use a skewer or the handle end of the spoon to open up the cracked area, carefully removing the small shell parts. Over a glass bowl, gently shake the egg until the egg white and yolk come out. Repeat these steps until all of your shells are empty. Remove any stray shell pieces and save the eggs for cooking.
Decorate the Egg Shells
Wash your eggs shells thoroughly. Color your eggs using whichever non-toxic method you prefer. We used watercolors but dying with natural materials also produces great results.
Make an Eco-friendly Confetti Filler
Grab your handheld hole punch, a handful of leaves, and settle down with a good show or audiobook. This step takes a while! Use the hole punch to create star, heart or circle shapes from your leaves. In the end, they'll look like this!
We had some handmade wildflower seed paper leftover from another project and added a fun plant-able element to our confetti. You can also include other natural elements like dried flower petals or birdseed. Continue until you have enough to put a tablespoon into each egg. Set aside a handful of larger leaves for later.
Remove your eggs from the dye and let them dry completely.
Fill and Seal your Eco-Friendly Confetti Eggs
Once your eggshells are dry, place a tablespoon of your natural confetti into each one. Set aside while you prepare the leaves for closing the eggs.
You can either use an entire leaf to cover the opening or cut out circles from your leaves. Using the large leaf created a beautiful finished product but required a bit more patience. You'll need to hold the leaf in place until the glue gets tacky enough to stick on its own. These circle closures were easier to apply. Apply glue all along the edges of the hole in the shell. Place an appropriately sized leaf circle on top and then gently flip it over and set it leaf side down to dry.
Now you're ready for an eco-friendly confetti egg bonanza!
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