Don't Toss Old Egg Cartons — Use Them To Make A Gorgeous DIY Vase On A Budget

The egg carton to vase transition might sound far-fetched, but you'll be even more surprised to find that there's more than one way to transform old egg cartons into a DIY vase. In this version, YouTube creator Evrim Taşer Yılmaz uses the egg cartons to create stunning flowers that form a flowing trail of three-dimensional accents on a flower pot, resulting in an upscale display on a budget. But you can use this same idea to accent different types of flower containers and arrange the egg carton blooms in different designs.

You'll have the best results with molded fiber egg cartons — they're typically made of recycled paper products and molded into that classic egg cup shape. Not only are they a more sustainable craft material, but they also offer a better texture than Styrofoam cartons. You can also paint the molded fiber surface easily to customize your flowers. To add realistic detailing to your flowers, something like these SynHHergyx Flower Stamens work well.

This project also requires some type of flower pot, can, bottle, or vase to serve as the main vessel. The original creator uses a flower pot, but you can use what you have on hand or find a container with an interesting silhouette. Keep glue available to attach the flowers to the pot. If you want to use this for an indoor potted plant, you can slip a smaller plain plastic pot inside the decorated container.

The flowers for this vase project come from the cup portion of the egg carton. Cut all the cups apart first. Then, cut petal shapes into them, leaving the center intact. You can shape the petals any way you want and make them larger, smaller, or a mix of both. For a full look, stack three cut cups, offsetting the petals each time. You can also try different flower looks — as it turns out reusing old egg cartons to DIY whimsical hanging decor with fairy-like flowers is actually easy.

Once you have the basic shape of the flowers, add the stamen detailing. If you don't want to buy faux stamens, cut fringe along one side of a strip of paper or crepe paper streamer. Then, roll it up and glue it in the center of the flower. Now's the time to paint the flowers. Layering different shades of one color adds depth to the design and replicates the natural variegation flowers have. Or you can paint it all one solid color.

If you want to change up the look of the base container, paint it or apply patterned napkins with decoupage glue. Once your base meets your approval, decide how to arrange the egg carton flowers on it. To replicate the original, choose a point along the top edge and bring the flowers down and around to the bottom. Or, choose your own pattern: a row of flowers along the top and bottom, flowers placed randomly all around, or vertical striped sections of the blooms. And if you're planting something inside, keep in mind that egg cartons are a smart addition to your flower pots and planters so you can still use any remaining strips or pieces.