This year for Mother’s Day you would like to offer a gift made by you. Far from the pasta necklace of your childhood, you want to show that it is possible to make a nice gift by reusing materials destined to be thrown away. More chic than the toilet paper roll, this time you set your sights on the cardboard egg box. We explain the process to you.
Why use egg cartons?
The idea of this DIY is very simple: make (recycled) paper pulp. Egg carton cardboard has the advantage of being made from recycled paper called molded cellulose. It’s easy to tear and absorbs water very well, making it easy to process into new paper pulp (which is what it comes from, if you’ve been following along).
How to make cups from recycled cardboard?
For this DIY, we were inspired by two videos shared by different creators. On the one hand Chelsea Zeferina uses white glue to reconstitute the paper pulp, while Sibia Torres Padilla (@sibster) uses a mixture of flour and water, ideal for an even more natural DIY.
What you will need:
- 1 carton of eggs (6 eggs minimum, 12 if you want a larger cup),
- bucket,
- a hand blender (or classic),
- stretch film,
- a bowl or cup of the desired shape,
- a micro-fiber cloth (or a cotton cheese cloth),
- white glue (or flour and fine salt),
- acrylic paint or printed paper napkins,
- transparent glue varnish.
How to make this cup?
- Start by skinning the egg carton, put the pieces in the bucket and immerse in hot water. Leave for several hours (ideally overnight).
- Once everything has been rehydrated, mix with a hand blender directly in the bucket, or in a classic blender by adding a little water from the bucket.
- Take a handful of the resulting dough, place it in the microfiber cloth (or cheese cloth) and squeeze out. Put the drained dough in a bowl, then continue to squeeze out the rest of the dough.
- Then several options: 1/ mix the dough with white glue, or2/ mix the dough with 1/4 part water for 1 part flour and a little fine salt.
- Knead everything, then protect your bowl or cup, then spread the paper dough over it. If you don’t have a bowl as an example, make a bowl by hand by adding more material.
- Press the edges well, let dry for 1 to 2 days (if it is damp, position near a window).
- Once the cup or small bowl is dry, peel it off and remove the stretch film. Paint the color of your choice, then cover the pattern with a paper towel (separate the layers in thickness to keep only one, the printed one).
- Once dry, varnish everything to protect. And here is your cup for Mother’s Day.
Editor’s tip: paint the edge of the cup with gold paint (or with varnish glue and metallic foil) to give a touch of chic!
For other DIY Mother’s Day gift ideas, find our quick and easy t-shirt tutorial or the glass and dried flower jewelry box.