A fleet of cup rowboats with toothpick oars and a card benchCarton cups, 4. Trim each cup low, glue a strip of card across it and rest two oars on the rim.
A bluebell stalk: cups hanging mouth down along a curved stemCarton cups, 5. Paint them blue, scallop the rims and thread them onto a bent green chenille stem.
One long dragon painted across three cartons set side by sideCartons, 3 whole, lids off. Push them together, paint the dragon over all the bumps and pull them apart.
A bat from three cups in a row: a body and two cut wingsCarton cups, 3 in a row. Cut a scallop out of each outer cup's rim and paint all three black.
A bee from a yellow cup with black stripes and wax-paper wingsCarton cups, 1. Paint the stripes around the cup and slot two wax-paper ovals into a cut across the top.
A caterpillar from a row of six cups with chenille-stem feelersCarton cups, 6 in a row. Leave the row joined, paint each cup a different green and poke the feelers in.
A chick sitting in a cracked shell: a yellow cup inside a zigzag-cut white oneCarton cups, 2. Cut points around the rim of the white cup and set the yellow one inside it.
A crocodile whose mouth is the whole carton, opening on cone teethCarton, 1 whole, and 2 spare cups. Paint it green, leave the cones white and glue the cups on the lid as eyes.
A dragon from a row of cups with the divider cones as its back spikesCarton, 1 half, cut lengthwise. The cups are the body and the cones stand up along the spine.
A fox from a single carton cone laid on its side, white-tipped snout firstCarton cones, 1. Lay it on its side, paint it orange with a white tip and glue two paper ears at the wide end.
A frog from a green cup sitting on a paper lily padCarton cups, 1. Cut a wide mouth into the rim, glue two paper eyes on top and fold paper legs beside it.
A ladybug from one red cup with black dots and paper legsCarton cups, 1. Paint it red, dot it with a fingertip in black and glue six paper strips underneath.
A penguin from two cups stacked mouth to mouthCarton cups, 2. Glue the rims together, paint it black with a white front and add a paper beak and feet.
A tortoise under one upturned cup, with a head and feet of green paperCarton cups, 1. Paint the shell in patches and glue a paper cross underneath for the four feet.
An owl from one cup with two of its corner flaps left on as wingsCarton cups, 1, cut with 3 flaps. Fold the third flap down over the front as the beak and brow.
Flowers and wreaths 12
A bluebell stalk: cups hanging mouth down along a curved stemCarton cups, 5. Paint them blue, scallop the rims and thread them onto a bent green chenille stem.
A cactus garden: green cones with toothpick spines in a lid full of sandCarton cones, 4, and 1 lid. Paint the cones, push in snapped toothpicks and stand them in the sand.
A daffodil: a yellow cup trumpet on a six-petal paper starCarton cups, 1. Trim the rim wavy, paint it orange-yellow and glue it to the middle of the star.
A daisy chain of carton cups knotted along a strand of yarnCarton cups, 10. Poke a hole in each base, knot the yarn on both sides of every flower to space them.
A field of poppies on painted card: red cups with black button centersCarton cups, 5. Flatten each cup a little so the petals spread, and draw the stems on the card.
A holly wreath: green cup leaves and red bead berries on a ringCarton cups, 12. Cut each cup into two spiky leaves, overlap them around the ring and add berries in threes.
A posy of mixed cup flowers on chenille stems, tied with yarnCarton cups, 7. Three shapes of petal, three colors. Twist all the stems together below the tie.
A ring of toadstools: red cup caps on cone stalksCarton cups, 5, and cones, 5. Dot the caps white, glue each on a cone and set the five in a circle.
A rose of four cups cut into petals and nestedCarton cups, 4. Cut four rounded petals into each cup, trim each one smaller than the last and stack them.
A sunflower: cups cut into pointed petals around a seeded centerCarton cups, 6. Cut each cup into two long points. Fill the middle with dried beans or black paper dots.
A window box: a lid planted with a row of cup flowersCarton lid, 1, and cups, 5. Paint the lid as a wooden box and stand the flowers in it on paper-straw stems.
A wreath of twelve cup flowers on a card ringCarton cups, 12. Cut a different petal shape into every third cup and glue them close enough to touch.
Masks, glasses and hats 12
A bird beak from one divider coneCarton cones, 1. Paint it yellow, draw a line down each side for the mouth and tie it on with yarn.
A crown whose points are a row of cones on a card bandCarton cones, 5. Paint them gold, glue them along the band and add a paper jewel under each.
A dragon snout mask: a lid for the muzzle with two cup nostrilsCarton lid, 1, and cups, 2. Glue the cups at the far end, paint it all and tie it on above your own nose.
A pig snout: one pink cup with two nostrils on a yarn tieCarton cups, 1. Paint it pink, draw two ovals on the base and knot yarn through both sides.
A raccoon mask: two joined cup rims painted black as the eye patchesCarton cups, 2 joined. Cut the bases out, paint the rims black and glue them to a gray paper band with two card ears.
A robot visor from the lid with two eye slotsCarton lid, 1. Cut two short slots to see through, paint the lid silver and glue on bottle-cap dials.
A unicorn horn on a headbandCarton cones, 1. Wind yarn around the cone in a spiral, paint between the turns and glue it to a card band.
Antennae: two cups bobbing on chenille stalks above a headbandCarton cups, 2. Push a stem through each cup's base, coil the stems and twist them onto the band.
Bowler hats for toys: a cup on a card brimCarton cups, 1 a hat. Cut a card circle a little wider than the cup, glue the cup on and paint both black.
Cat-eye glasses with chenille-stem armsCarton cups, 2 joined. Cut out the bases, trim the outer corners to upswept points and hook a stem over each ear.
Goggles: two joined cups with the bottoms cut out and yarn tiesCarton cups, 2 joined. Cut the base out of each cup, paint the rims and tie yarn through a hole at each side.
Mouse ears: two cups on a headbandCarton cups, 2. Paint the outsides gray and the insides pink and glue them to the band, mouths forward.
Boats, trains and treasure chests 12
A cable car: one cup that slides along a string between two chairsCarton cups, 1. Tape a bent paper clip to the rim as the hanger and hook it over a sloping string.
A castle from an upturned carton: a wall of cup towers with notched topsCarton, 1 whole, lid off. Turn the tray over, cut notches around each cup and paint it stone gray.
A fleet of cup rowboats with toothpick oars and a card benchCarton cups, 4. Trim each cup low, glue a strip of card across it and rest two oars on the rim.
A keepsake sorter: a carton with every cup painted a different colorCarton, 1 whole. Paint the cups first, then the lid. One small found thing lives in each cup.
A moon rocket: a white carton cone with a red tip and slotted tail finsCarton cones, 1. Paint it white with a red tip, cut three slits near the base and slot the fins in.
A row of race cars from single cups with painted numbersCarton cups, 4. Turn each cup over, glue on four paper wheels and paint a number on the roof.
A sailboat: one cup for the hull, a toothpick mast and a paper sailCarton cups, 1. Push the toothpick through a lump of clay in the cup and thread the sail on.
A submarine from two cups joined rim to rim, with a straw periscopeCarton cups, 2. Glue the rims together, paint portholes along the join and push the straw in the top.
A tall ship: half a carton with a paper-straw mast in every other cupCarton, 1 half, cut lengthwise. Stand a paper straw in every other cup and thread two square sails on each.
A train of single-cup freight cars, each with a different loadCarton cups, 5. Link them with yarn through the rims and load them with pebbles, buttons and pom-poms.
A treasure chest: a six-cup carton painted brown with gold bandsCarton, 1, six-cup size. Paint the bands across the lid and fill the cups with foil coins and beads.
A treasure island: a lid of sand with cone mountains and a tiny chestCarton lid, 1, and cones, 2. Paint the cones as peaks, add a paper palm and bury a painted pebble.
A painted carton as a picture 12
A chocolate assortment: twelve cups, twelve painted candies, no two alikeCarton, 1 whole. Swirls, stripes, a nut on top, a bite taken out. Paint a paper lace mat for the lid.
A coral reef on the tray, with the cones as coral towersCarton, 1 whole, lid off. Use the tray right way up. Each cup is a rock pool and each cone a coral.
A dozen cups painted around the rainbow, each a step from its neighborCarton, 1 whole. Red, yellow and blue go four cups apart. Mix each neighbor pair to fill the cups between.
A garden bed seen from above, one flower painted inside each cupCarton, 1 whole. Paint every cup brown first, then a flower looking straight up from the bottom.
A goofy lid portrait whose eyeballs are two glued-on cupsCarton lid, 1, and cups, 2. Glue the cups on, paint the pupils on their bases and let the hinge be the mouth.
A honeycomb: cups painted in ambers and yellows with paper beesCarton, 1 whole. Vary the yellow from cup to cup and glue a small paper bee on three of the rims.
A landscape across an upturned tray, the cups as hillsCarton, 1 whole, lid off. Paint the far row of bumps pale and blue and the near row dark and green.
A pattern sampler with a different pattern in every cupCarton, 1 whole. Dots, stripes, checks, zigzags, scales and waves, each in two colors only.
A tint ladder: one color with more white added in every cupCarton, 1 half. Start with the color straight from the pot and add one brush of white for each cup.
A town at night: every bump a domed building with lit windowsCarton, 1 whole, lid off. Paint the tray dark blue and dot yellow windows up each dome.
One long dragon painted across three cartons set side by sideCartons, 3 whole, lids off. Push them together, paint the dragon over all the bumps and pull them apart.
The surface of the moon: a carton painted gray, the cups as cratersCarton, 1 whole, lid off. Paint it gray, dab a paler gray on the rims and a darker gray in each cup.
How it works
A molded pulp egg carton is three materials in one: the cups, the pointed cones that stand between them, and a flat lid. These art ideas with egg cartons are sorted by what gets made.
Read the full guide
Cups, cones and lid
Cut the cups apart and trim each rim level, or leave the corner flaps on as petals, wings or legs. The cones become beaks, horns, cactuses and teeth. The lid is a tray, a deck or a canvas. Every hint starts with which parts it uses.
Egg carton painting ideas: put the paint on thick
Molded pulp soaks up paint, and the color dries flat and matte. Brush it on thickly, or give it two coats, and paint the cups before they are glued. The last group paints a whole carton as one picture, bumps and all.
Pulp cartons take scissors, glue and paint. Foam and clear plastic cartons do not take paint the same way.
A pencil pushed through a cup from the inside makes a neat hole for a stem.
Questions and answers
What can you make with egg cartons?
Animals, flowers, wreaths, masks, hats, boats, trains and treasure chests. This list holds 60, from a caterpillar made of a row of six cups to a color wheel painted in twelve, each with the parts it takes.
How do you cut an egg carton into cups?
Cut the lid off along the hinge first. Then cut between the cups, across the tray and along it, and trim each rim. The pulp is thickest where four cups meet, and that cut is one for an adult.
What is an egg carton made of?
Many are molded pulp: recycled paper pressed into shape, much as papier-mache is. Others are foam or clear plastic. Everything on this page is written for the pulp kind.
What can you do with the pointed parts in the middle?
The cones between the cups are the best part for beaks, horns and noses. Here they become a fox with a pointed snout, a row of crown points, a cactus garden, a rocket and the teeth of a crocodile.