Upgrade Your String Lights With This Creative Egg Carton DIY

Hey, you hard-working folks! Take a break from practical organization projects made from upcycled packaging. You've earned a DIY that will delight your eyes and bring you joy while saving something from the trash or recycling bin. There are so many genius ways to use egg cartons around your house, but most of them are purely utilitarian. This time, use them to craft a string of illuminated flowers. Painted paper or plastic flower blossoms made from the egg cups fit over the bulbs on a string of holiday lights for low-effort yet lovely results.

What you'll need for this lovely, low-cost project is an X-Acto knife with a pointed blade, two to four empty egg cartons, scissors, a pencil, and two or three colors of poster or acrylic paint. Of course, you'll also need a string of lights. It's simplest to attach the flowers to ones with small, cylindrical bulbs, but strings with larger bulbs will also work. As for egg cartons, any type will do. If you find yourself with Styrofoam or plastic cartons, opt to use them for them for this craft, since both materials are difficult if not impossible to recycle. On the upside, the plastic material is waterproof, making your flowers more durable for outdoor use.

Before using egg cartons for home DIY projects, make sure they are clean and sanitized. If your trays have clamshell lids, cut them off and save them for another project. Start by painting both sides of each egg tray in a different color. Simplify this small painting project by filling one of the cups with a reserve of paint to dip your brush in as you paint. Once dry, cut each row of cups apart, then cut each cup away from the row. As you cut each cup apart, you'll see indentations on two opposite sides created by the material that held the cups together. These will serve as your guide for cutting the flower petals. With a pencil, trace around the outside edge of the indentation from the opening of the cup to the other side of the indentation. Mimic this shape on each side of the cup, and cut the petals. Repeat until you have at least one cup per bulb.

With the X-Acto blade, carefully cut a small cross slit in the base of each cup to push the light bulb through. Slide each cup over a bulb so that the cupped side surrounds the bulb. You can also double up two cup cups in contrasting colors on each bulb. If you have larger bulbs on your string of lights, remove each bulb before attaching the flower cups. Screwing the bulb through both the cup and the socket will hold the flower securely in place. Your new string of floral lights are now ready to adorn any space!