Earth-Friendly Kid's Craft: Coffee Ground Fossils

By Diane

When kids are home for vacations or stuck indoors due to rain, it’s sometimes hard to make sure they are entertained and don’t get bored. Instead of plugging them into a TV and video games, how about getting them involved in an eco-friendly craft? We always have tons of coffee grounds around the house and usually I just toss them into the compost bin, but I came across this simple craft and it was a big hit!

Ingredients:

•    1 cup of used coffee grounds
•    1/2 cup of cold coffee
•    1 cup of flour
•    1/2 cup of salt

Other items you will need:

•    Wax paper
•    Mixing bowl and spoon
•    Small objects to make impressions in the dough like cookie cutters
•    Small plastic cup
•    Toothpicks (optional)
•    String  (optional)

Directions:

1.    Stir together the coffee grounds, cold coffee, flour and salt until well mixed.
2.    Knead the dough and flatten it out onto the waxed paper.
3.    Use the plastic cup to cut out circles of dough. 
4.    Press your objects firmly into the dough (don't press all the way down if using cookie cutters). When you take it out, you have your "fossil.”
5.    If you want to hang the fossil, poke holes into the edge with the toothpick and thread the string through the hole.
6.    Let the fossil dry for a day or two. You can also bake the fossils for a short period of time on low heat to get the dough to harden.

What types of crafts do your kids enjoy?