How to make soda-bottle garden shovels

What you'll need:

• One empty two-liter soda bottle
• Scissors
• Electrical tape
• Decorative tape
• Craft paint and brushes
• Newspaper

Instructions:

1. Rinse out the bottle with warm water to remove sticky residue.
2. Cut off the top of the soda bottle, using the label as a guide.
3. Set aside the bottom of the plastic bottle*. The top of the soda bottle will become your gardening shovel.
4. Cover the rough edge of the bottle with electrical tape to protect little hands.
5. Make sure your bottle cap is screwed on tightly, so dirt doesn't fall through the opening when the shovel is used.
6. Cover the table with newspaper and have the kids decorate their soda bottle shovels with decorative tape or craft paint. Let the shovels drip dry on the newspaper.
7. Get your seedlings ready for planting. Your new soda bottle garden shovels are ready to scoop.

* Put the bottom of your soda bottle to good use too. Learn how to turn it into a hanging garden planter at Urban Organic Gardener.

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