Using Egg Cartons in Crafting

Egg cartons are a common and bulky item to see in household trash cans, but they don't have to be disposed of. There are many great ways to reuse egg cartons, especially if you are a crafter, and save the energy it would take to recycle them. The more times an item can be used, the more the energy and resources it takes to produce, ship, and even dispose of the item will be dispersed across its life, making wise and conservative use of these assets. Crafting with packaging such as old egg cartons in a great way to do this.

All egg cartons used for crafting, especially those given to children, should be kept clean during their use. Cracked egg shells should never be returned to the carton and stored there. It can be unsanitary to craft with cartons that have old egg dried on them, as that can grow bacteria.

One of the most fun uses for old egg cartons when crafting is to craft with the cartons themselves. The cups can be cut apart and glued together in many different ways. They can be space ship parts, or holiday ornaments, eyeballs on frogs and monsters, hills and lakes in dioramas, anything the imagination of the artists can see them as.

If you are a crafter, egg cartons are a wonderful item to keep around. They are perfect for holding and sorting small pieces and bits of crafts. Beads, buttons, and sequins can all be kept in check and ready for use in the small cups of an egg carton.

They are also a nice replacement for a paint palette, since the colors won't mix together until they're needed to be. The cups hold small amounts of a dozen colors, and an egg carton is not easily tipped, so it's great for painting with kids.

A fun sewing kit can be made with an egg carton. A couple small pillows can be sewn, stuffed and glued in place in two of the cups to serve as pin cushions, and magnets and pieces of felt can be attached to the inside lid to serve as needle keepers. Sort buttons, safety pins, small spools of floss or thread, and other sewing tools into the other cups as desired.

Egg cartons make fun molds for crafts as well. Small candles can be made with them, and reused crayons can be melted and remolded in the cups. These new crayons are bulky and easy for little hands to hold. They also put a lot of color down on the paper in one stroke, which any little artist will tell you is important sometimes.

Using old egg cartons for crafting is a cheap way to be eco friendly and have some fun!