Easter is on the way — and, with it, a bunny who brings lots of eggs. While you need intact shells for dyeing or decorating eggs, you can use cracked shells leftover from everyday cooking for this eco-friendly project, which appeared in Martha Stewart Living in 1998. Next time you whip up an omelet or bake a cake, save your broken eggshells and transform them into miniature flowerpots. Young gardeners will have a blast watching the seeds sprout indoors. It's a reminder that spring is just around the corner.

Materials

• eggshell halves, rinsed well with water
• egg carton
• potting soil
• seeds: Fast-sprouting kinds are best — lettuces, wildflowers and most herbs, for example
• a sunny windowsill
• water

Instructions

1. Gently arrange the eggshell halves in the egg carton.
2. Spoon soil into the eggshells, filling each about halfway.
3. Plant the seeds according to package instructions, topping each eggshell off with a small amount of soil.
4. Place the open egg carton on a sunny windowsill and water regularly.
5. When the weather is warm enough, the sprouted plants can be transplanted into a garden. Make sure the plants have grown at least three inches tall, and remove them from the eggshells before planting.