Turn Egg Cartons And Cement Into A Stylish Planter With This Easy DIY

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While concrete planters are a sturdy and reliable garden staple, they also tend to come with a hefty price tag at most garden centers. That being said, the raw materials involved (cement and sand) can be very cheap. The secret behind a stylish concrete planter really comes down to the mold you use, and this is where, believe it or not, a trusty old egg carton can come in handy. TikTok creator @woodcraftkk demonstrates this hack with just a stack of egg cartons and a bag of cement. An easy weekend DIY project, the whole build cost well under $50, making it an affordable and creative project for anyone in need of some fresh planters. Plus, it looks similar to designs that retail for more than twice that.

The process consists of two parts, both relatively simple and straightforward. Instead of pouring the cement into a single mold, you'll start by making the basic body of the planter, then augmenting this base with a second batch of sculptural nubs created within the egg carton cups and layered on top. The egg carton trick is what will ultimately give the planter its dynamic texture, and take your finished product from an obvious DIY to a dramatic garden feature. 

To make the body of the planter, start with a large five-gallon size bucket, like this one from The Home Depot. Place a wide metal tube inside of it, roughly 9 to 10 inches across, making sure to leave at least a couple of inches of clearance from the edge of the bucket. Next, fill the inside of the ring with packed river sand to make a mold. Remove the metal ring and pour your mixed cement around the mold. The TikTok DIYer used PVC pipe to create a pedestal planter. However, you can use a larger interior mold and skip that step if you'd like your DIY concrete planter to have a standard shape and a larger capacity.

@woodcraftkk

#FlowerPotDIY #EggCartonCraft #CementPlanter #UpcycleIdeas #foryoupage

♬ original sound – woodcraftkk

While your cement is curing, you can start working on the decorative detail. Take your egg cartons and pour a small amount of cement into the bottom of each cup, allowing them to set. Once both the egg cartons and the planter base have fully hardened, pop out the small cement nubs. Use either leftover cement or a construction adhesive to affix the pieces to the outside of the planter in whatever pattern takes your fancy. This could be in horizontal rows, on a diagonal, or spaced out in random polka dots. 

If you want to customize the look still further, you can also add a coloring pigment to your wet cement mix. Colorants like Goodtake's Concrete Pigment offer a variety of shades to choose from. Alternatively, if you want a few planters of different sizes, you could recreate this look on a reduced scale by repeating the method with a smaller bucket, like a child's beach pail.