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Egg-citing Easter crafts – using egg cartons

Written by Lucy Paul
Two cardboard bunnies made from sections of an egg carton stand on a blue table, next to an empty cardboard egg carton. The bunnies are filled with little eggs.
Egg carton bunnies | Image credit: DyrElena, Shutterstock
Fancy creating some egg-citing crafts for Easter? Create your own egg basket to take on an Easter Egg Trail at a National Trust for Scotland property, or even make a bouquet of flowers!

Egg carton flowers

You will need:

  • Empty cardboard egg cartons
  • Acrylic paint
  • Paper straws or lollipop sticks for the flower stems
  • Pom poms (optional)
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Paintbrush

How to:

  1. Firstly, an adult should cut out four containers from the egg carton. Trim around the edges to give the petals a rounder shape.
  2. Squirt some acrylic paint colours onto a paper plate and the children can paint their flowers, getting as creative as they like!
  3. After the paint has dried, you can attach the stem to the flower by gluing it to the back. We used a paper straw that was thick enough to hold up the egg carton; if you use something like a pipe cleaner, it will just bend.
  4. Next, choose a colourful pom pom and glue that to the centre of the painted egg carton (optional).
  5. Display your flowers in a pot or a vase for Easter, the perfect way to decorate your Easter lunch table.
A composite image in quarters showing how to make cardboard flowers from an egg carton. Top left shows a cut-up egg carton with four compartments. Bottom left shows a paint palette. Top right shows painted cardboard carton flowers. Bottom right shows three cardboard carton flowers with green stalks added.
Egg carton flowers | Image credit: Zzzenia, Shutterstock

Easter egg basket

This Easter egg basket is really simple to put together, perfect for the Easter weekend. Check out our Easter Egg Trails 2023 to find a National Trust for Scotland trail near you.

You will need:

  • Empty cardboard egg carton
  • Acrylic paint
  • Thick ribbon or pipe cleaner for the handle
  • Scissors
  • Paintbrush
  • Hot glue gun

If you want to really jazz up your Easter basket, you can add even more craft supplies:

  • Pom poms
  • Mini chicks
  • Stickers
  • Buttons
  • Tissue or crepe paper to cover the outside

How to:

  1. Once you have gathered all of your materials, take a few minutes to cut off the top of the egg cartons. A regular pair of scissors should be fine for cutting through the cardboard.
  2. Then it’s time to gather the children and get started with decorating!
  3. Add a handle by making a hole either end of the egg carton and threading a pipe cleaner or thick ribbon through the holes.
  4. Secure with a knot and/or glue.
Two hands are shown cutting round a cardboard egg carton with a pair of scissors. They are rounding off the corners. Two hands fasten a green pipe cleaner to an egg carton basket. The basket has been painted green inside. Two hands attach green crepe paper to the outside of a cardboard egg carton basket. A cardboard egg carton Easter basket, with blue and pink painted eggs inside.

Egg carton bunnies

At the National Trust for Scotland, we love making crafts out of recycled items you can find around your home, and these egg carton bunnies are no exception!

Each bunny will end up with their own personality, and you can fill them with Easter sweets afterwards. They also make cute accessories for your Easter Egg hunt or as a table decoration for your Easter lunch.

You will need:

  • Cardboard egg carton
  • Acrylic paint
  • Scissors
  • White paper or card (an eco-friendly alternative to googly eyes)
  • Black marker pen
  • Pom poms for the nose and tail (optional)
  • Masking tape
  • Paintbrush
  • Glue

How to:

  1. To start, cut out two of the egg carton compartments and trim off any excess to create a flat top.
  2. Put the trimmed egg carton compartments on top of each other, with the flat tops touching. Take a small piece of masking tape and put on the back of the compartments to secure them together.
  3. To make it extra secure, open up the compartments and place another small piece of masking tape on the inside.
  4. Paint the egg carton any colour you like, using acrylic paints.
  5. Cut two bunny ear shapes, two bunny eyes and some bunny teeth out of the white paper or card.
  6. Once your paint has dried, glue on the eyes, ears, teeth and pom poms (optional) for the nose and tail.
  7. Use a black marker pen to add pupils, whiskers and even eyelashes!

Hoppy days, you’re done!

Two cardboard bunnies made from sections of an egg carton stand on a blue table, next to an empty cardboard egg carton. The bunnies are filled with little eggs.
Egg carton bunnies | Image credit: DyrElena, Shutterstock

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