Hang on to those paper egg cartons! You can make some seriously cute Christmas ornaments with them.
With a little time, some basic craft supplies (and a good Christmas playlist), you can create countless spotted toadstools, snowy Christmas trees and tiny fairy cottages to adorn your home for the holidays.
Whether you’ve got the Christmas crafting bug and you’re searching for a quick project or you’re opting out of commercialism and into a handmade holiday this year, these charming ornaments fit the bill. They’re a great way to repurpose paper egg cartons. And despite their humble origins, the finished ornaments look like something you’d find in a boutique gift shop. Yet, they’re easy enough for a child to make.
Grab the gang and your craft supplies, and let’s get started.
Paper Egg Carton Ornaments
I’ll be showing you how to create three different ornaments, all made from the center cones inside paper egg cartons.
Spotted Toadstools or Fly Agaric Mushrooms
These charming little mushrooms are the perfect Christmas ornament, with mushrooms having a moment right now.
Pine Trees
These sweet little Christmas trees can be painted in one shade of green, or you can add contrasting shades of green. You can even add snow or glitter to make them your own.
Fairy Houses
With a wine cork and a paper egg carton, you’ve got yourself a tiny little fairy house. Make enough for an entire Christmas village.
What You’ll Need
- Paper egg cartons
- Sharp scissors
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Embroidery Needle or other sharp point
- Monofilament or ribbon
- Cinnamon Sticks
- Wine corks
- Craft Paints
- Paintbrushes
- Glitter, if you wish to use it
- Black Sharpie pen (the fine-point pens)
Getting Started
Using the scissors, cut the center strip of the bottom of the egg carton out. Cut the strip into single cones. Now, go back and cut the bottom of the cones so they have a more rounded shape for mushroom and tree ornaments. Consider snipping small slits into the bottom edges of the cones for tree ornaments. You can leave them squared or rounded on the bottom for the fairy house ornaments.
Decide if you wish to add a loop to hang your ornaments with.
If you’re making freestanding ornaments for a Christmas village, you can skip this step.
Using an embroidery needle, poke a small hole in the tip of the cone. Cut a length of monofilament and tie a knot at the ends. Thread the loop up through the cone and out the top of the cone. Add a dab of hot glue to the knotted end before gently pulling it to the top inside the cone. Allow the glue to cool and harden.
Adding Stems-Trunks-Houses
If you’re making mushroom or tree ornaments, you’ll be using cinnamon sticks as the mushroom stem or the tree trunk. Not only do they look charming, but they smell wonderful! Add hot glue to the end of the cinnamon stick and push it snuggly up inside the cone. You’ll want to hold it steady for a few moments until the glue begins to set so the cinnamon stick stays straight.
For the houses, we’re using wine corks. Again, add hot glue to one end of the cork and push it snuggly inside the cone. To create houses of varying heights, cut the corks to different lengths, gluing the cut end inside the cone.
Painting Your Ornaments
Paint the cones to look like a mushroom, Christmas tree or the roof of a house and allow it to dry.
Mushroom Painting Tips
- Opt for an orange-red to create a more natural-looking mushroom.
- Consider dry brushing a slightly lighter shade at the top of the cone to give it more contrast.
- Don’t forget to add the characteristic white spots of the fly agaric mushroom.
- In nature, these mushroom caps range in color from bright yellow to orange to the classic red we see in so many illustrations.
Pine Tree Painting Tips
- Paint the cone, and when it’s dry, dry brush a darker shade of green in rows around the cone to mimic pine boughs
- Swap the shades of green, using the darker shade as the base and the lighter green dry brushed on
- Add snow-covered tops to the trees for a winter theme
- Add glitter for a sparkling snow-covered tree
Fairy Cottage Painting Tips
- Use a Sharpie pen to draw windows and fine details like door knobs or shingles on your roof once the base coat of paint has dried.
- Using a fine paintbrush or a toothpick, make tiny green slashes around the base of your cork to mimic grass.
- Consider adding white paint and or glitter to the rooftops for a snow-covered fairy cottage.
Eat More Eggs!
The problem I’ve found with these ornaments is that they’re addictive! Once you make a couple, you’ll start coming up with all sorts of color schemes and ideas. Before you know it, you need more egg cartons. Eat more eggs, or ask friends and family to save egg cartons for you. (They’ll wonder if you got chickens.)
Ways to Display Your Ornaments
Naturally, these look right at home on the Christmas tree. You might even consider cutting a small branch from a bush or tree and using it to display your ornaments. These sweet creations also look wonderful, hung from a garland in a doorway. Add some dried orange slices, and you’ve got the perfect rustic Christmas garland. Use the ornaments to adorn packages and give a handmade ornament with your gift as well. You can also skip the monofilament hanger and create a tiny Christmas fairyland complete with fake snow. (Click here to see my secret for the best fake snow.)
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