Transform Old Egg Cartons Into Chic Decor With A Thrifted Mirror

Skeptical that an old egg carton can somehow turn into a cutest home decor? Then, you should check out this project from the Our Upcycled Life YouTube channel. The creator crafts beautiful rose flowers out of the cups of egg cartons and paints them before adhering them around the frame of a small mirror. And you can easily recreate the project using a mirror you already own, a small one from Dollar Tree, or a thrifted mirror.

Of all the smart ways to use empty egg cartons around your home, making decor out of them is one of our favorites, which is why we're so excited about this DIY. It works with any mirror that has a frame. You could also make it work on a frameless mirror, though. Glue the egg carton flowers around the edge of the mirror to create a frame where one doesn't yet exist.

You'll want to use molded fiber egg cartons — the ones that made of paper with a cardboard-like texture. They'll hold up better and look better for this DIY than Styrofoam. Each flower takes three egg cups plus a strip of the carton's top. The number of cartons you'll need depends on the size of the mirror and how much of the frame you want to cover. You'll need sharp scissors to cut the cups and hot glue to secure them. Spray paint is the easiest way to cover the flowers, and you may want paint for the mirror frame as well.

Cut the individual cups on the egg carton out, trimming the edges off. Then, trim the four sides into petal-like shapes. To assemble each flower, stack and hot glue three of the trimmed cups, making sure to rotate each cup slightly so the petals are off-center from the previous cup to give the whole thing a flower-like look. For the center, cut a strip of the egg carton lid, roll it into a spiral, and glue it to the flower. Or, make cuts along one edge of a crepe paper streamer for a fringe effect, and roll it into a spiral to glue into the center.

Place the flowers in a cardboard box and spray paint them in the color you want. Alternatively, you can brush on different shades of the same color to soften it and give a nature-inspired variegated appearance. You could even paint each petal in colors that'll create a radial gradient when you glue them to form the flower (something like a white center, light blue inner petals, then a deep blue outer one). If you don't love the look of this flower, try other options that can turn this DIY into a whimsical egg carton decor idea. 

When you are done with the flowers, hot glue them onto the frame of the mirror, which you can paint the same color. Cover the entire frame, or cluster several flowers in one section of the mirror. Twisting fairy lights around the egg carton flowers infuses warmth into the design. You could also turn your egg cartons into a cute flower garland and drape that around the mirror if you don't want to adhere the egg carton flowers permanently.