Eggs are one of the purest protein sources available, and they’re also delicious. Whether you like your eggs sunny-side-up or scrambled, one thing is certain. When you’re finished cooking breakfast, you’ve got a neat little craft supply at your disposal: egg cartons you can use to make egg carton crafts. Instead of tossing those leftover egg cartons, you can transform them into useful stuff like games, handmade decorations, and much more.
Here’s some more incentive for putting your egg cartons to good use. When you do egg carton crafts with your kids, they will not just exercise their creative little minds and increase their fine motor skills. They will also learn invaluable lessons about sustainability and recycling. Let’s dive into this list of egg-cellent ideas!
1. Caterpillar
First on our list of egg carton crafts is the ever popular caterpillar.
There’s just something about this little guy that just steals our hearts. Maybe it’s the googly eyes, those colorful pom-pom balls, his sweet little smile, or that hot pink antenna. Regardless, this adorable caterpillar is a winner.
Supplies:
- Egg carton
- Scissors
- Googly eyes
- Pipe cleaners
- Washable markers
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Pom-poms
You can get as creative as your heart desires when you make your own egg carton caterpillar.
Find This Project Here: Creative Green Living
2. Egg Carton Flowers
These creative flowers are just in time for spring, and just like spring wildflowers, your egg carton flowers can be as colorful as your imagination.
Supplies:
- Cardboard egg carton (not foam)
- Acrylic paint
- Paper straws
- Scissors
- Glue
- Paintbrush
- Pom-poms for the center
The pom-poms in the centers add such a sweet touch. These flowers would look so cute in a terracotta pot with black beans as “dirt.”
Find This Project Here: I heart arts n crafts
3. Egg Carton Crafts: Christmas Snowman
When you and the kids are stuck inside on a snowy day, these egg carton snowmen will put some smiles on your faces. You can make an entire snowman family for extra fun.
Supplies:
- Paper egg carton
- Small pieces of fabric
- Black buttons
- Paint
- Scissors
- Paintbrush
- Glue
- Orange cardstock or foam sheet
- Pom-poms
- Googly eyes
- Bakers twine (optional)
- Glue dots (optional)
These egg carton snowmen are great holiday and winter decorations, too. Bonus idea: String several of them together with some yarn to make a unique homespun garland.
Find This Project Here: Simple Everyday Mom
4. Flower Hair Wreath
If you have a little princess (or two!), she will love these beautiful little flower hair wreaths.
Supplies:
- Cardboard egg cartons
- Paintbrush
- Paint
- Pipe cleaners
- Blue
- Markers
We love the spring photos, and you could plan a glam photoshoot to show off your new flower hair wreaths. You can also create matching bracelets to go with these flower hair wreaths.
Find This Project Here: Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas
5. Chinese New Year Dragon
This Chinese New Year Dragon is easily one of my favorite egg carton crafts.
The Year of the Dragon in Chinese astrology was in 2012, but it’s never too late to love dragons. Even better, this feisty little dragon looks like he will gobble us up.
Supplies:
- Egg carton
- Googly eyes
- Paint (red, orange, black, and yellow)
- Scissors
- Red paper for the tongue
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
To make these dragons, you cut the bottom of the egg carton in half lengthwise and remove one of the cups to create the dragon’s head.
Find This Project Here: Juggling with Kids
6. Abstract Egg Carton Flowers
We love these flowers because they lay flat and can be put against a background. Also, we love that they use popsicle sticks and buttons. Adorable!
Supplies:
- Cardboard egg carton
- Popsicle sticks
- Paint
- Buttons
- Glue for gluing to a background (optional)
It’s really cute how the blogger put her flowers on a dirt and sky background. It would be fun to experiment with cityscapes and different backgrounds, too.
Find This Project Here: Happy Hooligans
7. Sailboat
Although these little boats can’t actually get wet, they’re perfect for pretending. They’re also the perfect size for figurines like Fisher Price Little People or similar toys.
Supplies:
- Egg carton
- Chopsticks for the mast
- Paint
- Paintbrush
- Ribbon or string to secure the bunting and mast
- Scissors
- Glue
- Blue tack
- Staples
The original creator of this little sailboat craft paired it with a storybook about a boat, making this a great teaching tool.
Find This Project Here: The Mad House
8. Egg Carton Easter Wreath
An Easter wreath made out of egg cartons is so perfect, isn’t it? But the fact is, you could make a wreath for any occasion of the year. We love how colorful this is, and the cardboard leaves are a nice touch that adds even more detail.
Supplies:
- About 5 cardboard egg cartons
- Paintbrushes
- Craft paints
- Large piece of cardboard
- Scissors
- Glue
Just imagine the possibilities with wreaths. If you have enough egg cartons throughout the year, you could make it a new family tradition to make a wreath for every holiday.
Find This Project Here: Our Potluck Family
9. Flower Art on Canvas
Another incredibly fun egg carton craft is this flower art on canvas.
We’ve covered some other egg carton flowers, but this bunch of flowers stands out because the flowers are mounted to canvas. What a beautiful work of art! We love this because you can use styrofoam egg cartons, too, so they’re not filling up our landfills.
Supplies:
- 9″ x 12″ canvas
- Egg carton
- Mod Podge Sparkle
- Paint
- Green pipe cleaners
- Scissors
- Coordinating ribbon for the bow
- Craft glue
- Paintbrush
- Buttons
This project creates a masterpiece that your little ones will be proud to have hanging in their home. Consider experimenting with different embellishments. For example, rhinestones and sequins would be beautiful additions to this work of art.
Find This Project Here: Mod Podge Rocks Blog
10. Egg Carton Crafts Panda or Teddy Bear
Who doesn’t love pandas? They’re completely adorable and your little egg carton pandas will be as cute as can be.
Supplies:
- 2 egg cartons with cone-shaped pieces in the middle
- Scissors
- Tacky glue (or use a hot glue gun)
- Black and white paint
- Nail scissors to make the slots
- 2 toothpicks
- Black marker, felt-tip pen, or gel pen
- Green tissue paper
Here’s an idea: Before or after making your pandas, check out the Smithsonian National Zoo’s Panda Cam to see these majestic bears in action. It’s so much fun to pair a crafting activity with a learning opportunity.
We love the teddy bears you can make with egg cartons, too. Watching a video of grizzly bear cubs would round out this activity.
Find This Project Here: Jumble Tree
11. Fine Motor Egg Carton Christmas Tree Craft
One of the most popular times of the year to do craft activities as a family is during the holidays. This Christmas tree craft idea is as adorable as it is fun.
Supplies:
- Cardboard egg cartons
- Washable green tempera paint
- Paintbrush
- Bamboo skewers
- Small red cup for the tree’s base
- Sequins for ornaments
- Yellow cardstock for the star
Besides being lots of fun, doing crafts together as a family builds family memories and can even help children develop their fine motor skills. The task of putting the egg carton pieces through the skewer is fun and productive for your wee ones.
Find This Project Here: The OT Toolbox
12. Hanging Fish Decoration
Of all the egg carton crafts on our list, this fish decor project is one of the most memorable. Look how cute it is! This completed project is reminiscent of some we’ve seen at stores like Anthropologie.
Supplies:
- Egg carton
- Scissors
- Paint
- Sturdy needle
- Thread, yarn, or embroidery floss
- Googly eyes
After you string the pieces together, you’ve got a stringer of fish worthy of tall fishing tales. This is a great craft to use up any styrofoam egg cartons you have, too.
Find This Project At: Reefs.com
13. Egg Carton Jewelry Box
Ladies of all ages love jewelry boxes, and this one is super special because it makes a wonderful gift for moms, grandmothers, sisters, or aunts. It’s hard to believe that this gorgeous creation was once a humble egg carton.
Supplies:
- Cardboard egg carton
- Paint in whatever colors you want to use
- Stamps or stickers for decorating
- Ribbon
If you don’t have the stamps and stickers you’d like to have, you can print clip-art from the internet and use a glue stick to attach the printables to your egg carton. This would be a good craft project for using up odd pieces of Contact Paper, too.
Find This Project Here: B-Inspired Mama
14. Egg Carton Turtles
Just like those cute caterpillars at the beginning of this list, these little turtles have made us fall head over heels in love. The googly eyes and sweet little smiles are the best.
Supplies:
- Cardboard egg cartons
- Paint in various colors (green and blue are great)
- Craft foam for the head and feet
- Scissors
- Paintbrush
- Googly eyes
- Black marker to draw the smiles
Like so many of these egg carton crafts, you can pair this activity with a learning opportunity. Check out some YouTube videos about sea turtles, for example.
Bonus idea: Glue a magnet to the back of these turtles to turn them into refrigerator magnets.
Find This Project Here: Crafty Crafted
15. Egg Carton Printing for Abstract Art
Did you know you can use an egg carton to create abstract art? To print with an egg carton, you paint the underside of the carton and then flip it over to use it as a stamp.
Supplies:
- Cardboard egg carton
- Paint
- Paintbrush
- Glitter
- Large pieces of cardstock or poster board for your artwork
This is one of the egg carton crafts that work beautifully for younger children.
For learning, talk about the different shapes and patterns your little one is making. You can also experiment with color mixing and discuss art from different cultures.
Find This Project Here: The Imagination Tree
16. Elegant Egg Carton Flower Mirror Frame
If you’re looking for a craft that proves you can make something exquisite out of anything, this mirror frame made from egg cartons is right up your alley. When people see this mirror or frame displayed in your home, they’ll find it hard to believe it’s made from recycled egg cartons.
Supplies:
- Cardboard egg cartons
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Plain mirror frame
- Small mirror
- Scissors
- Paint (optional)
- Embellishments such as sequins or rhinestones (optional)
To make the beautiful egg carton roses, watch this video on YouTube.
Find This Project Here: Wonderful DIY
17. Poppies for Remembrance Day
In the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, poppies are used to observe Veterans Day, Remembrance Day, and Anzac Day. Besides being symbolic for remembering those who served in the two World Wars, poppies are also beautiful flowers.
Supplies:
- Egg cartons
- Red and black paint
- Paintbrush
- Tissue paper (green, yellow, and white)
- Scissors
- Glue
- Drinking straws or popsicle sticks for the stems
You can use this activity to explain to your children how people in other countries honor their veterans and remember the difficult wartimes.
Find This Project Here: Happy Hooligans
18. Egg Carton Ocean World Craft
Using a large egg carton, you can create a fascinating and vibrant underwater ocean world, right from your kitchen table or craft room. Grab your seashells, sequins, and colored paper, and let your imagination go wild.
Supplies:
- Egg cartons
- Blue paints and glitter glues
- Pebbles and seashells
- Colored cardstock
- Colored foam sheets (optional)
- Plastic sequins and rhinestones
- Scissors
- Glue
- Sting or yard (if you want to hang fish from the top)
We also love this variation that we found at Artsy Craftsy Mom. In her project, the children drew artwork of fish and even hung some from the top to make it seem like they’re swimming.
Find This Project Here: The Imagination Tree
19. Egg Carton Mermaids
These gorgeous mermaids may be our favorite of all the egg carton crafts. One reason we love it is that you can use up your foam egg cartons to make these, too. Also, all the different colors are beautiful.
Supplies:
- Egg cartons
- Toilet paper tube
- Paint palette
- Acrylic paint
- Paintbrushes
- Small gold jingle bells
- Hot glue gun
- Scissors
- Twine
- Mermaid template (optional, get it here)
You can buy their template if you want, but a crafty mom or dad can easily create their own. For this project, you use both the bottom (cups) and the tops of the egg cartons.
Find This Project Here: Art Camp Studio
Which of These Egg Carton Crafts Will You Make First?
This list of popsicle stick crafts is a mega-list and you’re probably excited to get started. Which one will you make first? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to share with us any great ideas that we may have missed.