The Best (and Easiest!) DIY Succulents - Part 1, With a Secret Ingredient You Won't Believe

{Part of the purpose of Pink Salt Riot is to give women everywhere tools to help them live lives of authentic joy in Christ. And part of how I plan to do that? By sharing amazing and beautiful recycled DIY projects. Wait, what? Yes, I know. Not exactly the first thing that pops into your mind, is it? Learn more about why I feel recycled DIY is an important addition to my mission in this post, and get the down low on everything you need to get started right here.} If you’ve shopped my home décor shop lately, you know I love succulents. And despite their constant touting as some of the easiest houseplants to keep I alive I continuously and spectacularly fail to do so. Hence the pursuit of un-killable succulents. I have been making paper flowers for years, but I have never been a huge fan of paper succulents because they just seem so flat and plain compared to their plump and textured inspiration. But then, inspiration struck. Egg cartons, you guys. They are PERFECT. Theirs some texture, stability, even ready-made forms that are PERFECT for succulents. PERFECT. Just had to say that one more time. I have developed FOUR totally different styles of succulents using one regular paper dozen egg carton, so over the next few weeks I will be sharing them all with you! Today I’ll show you how to cut the carton apart and how to make the first variety from the egg cups. You can make 4 of these succulents from a single dozen egg carton.

Here's what you need for your succulents:

• Egg carton: the recycled paper kind
• Scissors
• Hot glue
• Green paint

Pretty basic, right? I bet you have most, if not all, of the things you need at home right now! 1. Start by cutting apart your egg carton. Cut the lid away from the bottom of the carton. For this particular tutorial you will only be using the bottom egg cups part, but in the coming days I will share how to make other varieties of succulents from the top as well - so don't throw it away yet! 2. Cut apart each of the individual egg cups. This is what you will use to make this succulent! 3. Once you have separated all the egg cups, begin preparing the individual pieces. Cut each egg cup as shown above in #3, cutting four triangles out of the sides. They will be varying sizes, and that's a good thing! Repeat with all 12 egg cups. 4.Keep ALL the pieces - this tutorial only uses the center pieces with 4 leaves but I'll show you how to use the triangles to make another variety later this week! 5. Now we're ready to begin making the succulents. You will need at least 3 of the center pieces of the egg cups, but you can use more for a bigger "bloom." Keep one whole, cut one in half, and cut all 4 leaves apart on the third one as shown above. 6. Begin assembling the succulent. Use the hot glue to glue the four single leaves into the center of the whole egg cup piece, layering the bottoms on top of each other and arranging them so that they fill in the spaces between the leaves of the main piece. (See 6 above and 7 below for illustration). 7. Once you've added the center leaves, hot glue the two halves to the outside to fill out the bloom. At this point if you want a bigger bloom you can add as many half cups as you want to the outside to continue to fill it out. Make sure to distribute them evenly so the bloom looks natural. 8. Remember those triangles that you cut out of the egg cups? You'll need a few right now! Pick out 2-3 of the triangles to finish the center of your succulent. 9. Pinch the bottom of each triangle together to make a tiny petal for the center. Use hot glue to add them to the center. 10. You're done! Now to repeat for as many succulents as you'd like to make! Not too hard right? You can always make these while watching your favorite show, but I also find repetitive crafts like this to be very helpful for mediation or prayer. You get into a nice rhythm that lets your mind be free to do other things and if you happen to be making these for someone it's a great opportunity to turn your mind to prayer for that person. Be on the lookout for the other three tutorials in the next few weeks! Show me yours if you makes some and let me know what you'd use these for in the comments!