So I had a hankering for some egg salad for lunch, and put on some eggs to boil...it was the last of the eggs in that particular carton and I headed out to the garage to put it in the stack of all the other egg cartons that I have been saving. Then I stopped. I always do this. I save and save everything and do nothing with everything I've saved. So I decided to challenge myself, while the eggs were boiling, I'd come up with an idea. If nothing came out of it OK, but if something did come out of it then I could keep saving, right? :)
I knew I wanted to do some sort of flower, and daffodils are what emerged. With spring rapidly approaching, the daffodil is the perfect flower to recreate. I always love to see them start popping up everywhere.
With the full size cartons like this, you can get four daffodils. I wanted to make a lot because I love how real ones look all clustered together.
These have got to be the weirdest pictures on my blog....begin by cutting straight through the cups of the carton. With heavy duty scissors, this is done super easy. You won't be able to use the outer edges for this flower (but I did save it just in case I think of other uses).
You will have four rows of these with usable 'peaks'. Cut apart the 'peaks'......I'm using the word peak because we are in uncharted territory between what once an egg carton but not quite a flower yet.
It takes three of these to make the daffodil.
Of the three peaks, it will take two to make the petal segments. To make the two floral segments around the cup, cut down to the bottom of the peak and then cut the four corners into petal shapes, again it is easy with the heavy duty scissors. Daffodils really only have six of these petals all together, but our little egg carton daffs don't mind the extra two petals ;)
To make the trumpet shape of the corona (or cup), just round off the corners.
To give the daffodil a stem, holes will have to be punched through the center of each segment. Some of the egg cartons I had came with holes, others didn't, I just poked a hole with a small screwdriver.
To make the stem, I used left over cut stems from making wreaths, but if you don't have stems just laying around, used heavy duty wire (like 18 gauge or thicker)....other ideas to use for stems you might have on hand: wire coat hangers, rebar wire.
*I really hope that wasn't too confusing
Layer on one petal segment, then the next and finally the cup. Let the stem/wire create the stamen. I used a touch of hot glue between to secure everything.
Next it's time to base-coat all the flowers. I did this so the yellows and oranges are nice and bright. I painted my first one without priming first, and the colors came out dull (even with several coats), so go ahead and get a layer of white over everything and let dry. I just used white paint, but gesso would be good to use too.
Also, you do not have to be super precise with this process, I quickly swiped on the paint. They are not completely covered...they are very textural and that's what I like about it. Enjoy the process and it doesn't have to be perfect.
Once they are dry, paint the corona yellow and some of the petals too, I wanted a mix. Once the yellow is dry, create the 'ruffle' around the corona with a blend of a dark and darker shade of orange. Using two different shades creates depth and helps them seem more realistic.
Again, don't be too precise. have fun with it.
Once they were all dry, I decided to do a coat of Mod Podge to seal the paint and add a little shine.
I also experimented with sparkle Mod Podge and even glitter. I ended up not liking the glitter, although I suppose it looks like snow....but I'm done with winter-I'm ready for spring. :)
I did like the sparkle Mod Podge and used it sparingly for a little more shine.
I am having lots and lots of other ideas to use egg cartons, and different flowers too. The possibilities are endless! Who knew egg cartons were so thrilling?!
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