Egg Carton Flower Lights

by mcco4371

87K2067

Intro: Egg Carton Flower Lights

Today, I thought it would be fun to give you instructions on how to make a string of flower lights out of empty egg cartons. This project is pretty simple, but it can be time consuming. It takes me about 2-3 hours to finish a string of 20 lights. 

STEP 1: Gather Your Materials

For this project you will need the following:
Egg Cartons (Cardboard or Styrofoam)
Acrylic Craft Paint
Sharp Utility Knife
Foam Paintbrush
Hot Glue Gun
String of Christmas Lights
Cutting Mat

STEP 2: Cut Your Cartons

Using the utility knife cut the egg cartons along the red lines in this picture. With a styrofoam carton, not every cup will make a good flower shape. This carton yields 16 poppy shaped flower. The cardboard carton on the right will yield
5 lily shaped flowers. Save up your cartons or ask your friends and family to donate theirs to your project.

STEP 3: Shape Your Flowers

Using the utility knife cut the egg cartons along the red lines in this picture. With a styrofoam carton, not every cup will make a good flower shape. This carton yields 16 poppy shaped flower. The cardboard carton on the right will yield
5 lily shaped flowers. Save up your cartons or ask your friends and family to donate theirs to your project.

STEP 4: Paint Your Flowers

Now it's time to paint your blossoms! I've found that sponge paint brushes work best to cover the irregular surfaces and works the paint into the little creases and dimples well. As you can see on the orange flower, the styrofoam will show your brush strokes. This gives the flowers a watercolored look. The cardboard will paint up nice and evenly. I recommend painting the insides of all the flowers first. By the time you've painted the last flower, the first should be dry and you can then begin painting the outsides.

STEP 5: Assemble Lights

Once all the paint has thoroughly dried, use the utility knife to cut a small X shaped slit in the bottom of your flower. This slit is where you will insert the light bulbs.

Insert one of the light bulbs through one of the flower just far enough that you can remove the bulb and change it if it burns out.

On the back side of the flower, hot glue the flower in place. It helps to hold the flower in position until the glues is set. Repeat this step for each flower, making sure the glue is cool before moving onto the next light.

STEP 6: The Final Product!

These lights make a whimsical decoration for your room. They also make wonderful night lights, providing a delicate and colorful glow.

7 Comments

twilightladybella 11 years ago

i hope this would work. I'll be presenting a product out from recycle materials. and this catch my attention.

coulprod 12 years ago

I work in a restaurant that does a killer a breakfast so we go through a lot of eggs making the cartons readily available. These were super easy and they look awesome!! I did not hot glue the flowers on, they seem like they will hold but I may choose to do so down the line. I love these and recommend them to all.

kilbia 12 years ago

I ended up cutting a little deeper down the sides than you did on my styrofoam flowers, but that was okay because they look like dogwood blossoms and now I don't have to paint them if I don't want to. =) Thanks for this idea!

tkhan5212 12 years ago

i actually made this for a school project. I had so much making these and they look GORGEOUS at night!

PACW 13 years ago

These are truly delightful! Thank you for sharing.

scoochmaroo 13 years ago

Gorgeous egg carton flower lights!