Use An Egg Carton To DIY The Cutest Dove Decor For Your Mantle

A fireplace mantel is often the centerpiece of a living room or family room. If you leave the mantel bare, it can look a bit forlorn. There are a number of stunning mantel decor ideas that will take your space to the next level, and it's fun to create some of the items yourself — like some cute little doves made from upcycled egg cartons. Crafting a single dove, a trio of doves, or a whole flock of doves, perhaps representing all the members of your family, is a fun way to add some self-expression to the center of your home. It's also a budget-friendly project that taps into a current interior design trend: decorating with nature in your home. YouTube creator Zad Crafts demonstrates how to construct your new feathered friends in an easy-to-follow tutorial.

Besides a leftover cardboard egg carton, you likely already have many of the needed supplies in your craft inventory: hot glue and PVA glue, craft wire, and orange yarn. Fine yarn works well for this craft; alternatively, use orange pipe cleaners. You'll also need a small flat paintbrush, a tapestry needle or skewer, needle-nose pliers, white paper, white felt, cotton balls, a circle stencil or a small lid to trace around, and black beads for the doves' eyes.

Egg carton crafts are all about sculpting the pliable cardboard as a medium in the same way as you might use clay. What makes this particular DIY possible is separating the paper into thin layers and tearing it up so that you can apply it to the bird's body like paper mâché. The clear-drying PVA glue is the invisible bond holding everything together. For these doves, trim and split one cup for the head and shape it into a cone, securing the cut edges with hot glue. Trim and hot glue together two cups for the body — one slightly smaller than the other. Glue the head onto the body at an angle. Finally, add realistic contours by covering it with thin sheets of peeled egg carton cardboard coated in PVA glue.

Use pliers to form the wire into two quirky bird feet and cover them with orange yarn, securing the ends with hot glue. Poke holes into the base of the bird's body with the needle or skewer, then coat the legs in hot glue and push them into the holes. Make a tiny paper cone from a circle of paper, dab it with hot glue, and wrap it in yarn. It's your bird's beak! The two black beads become the bird's eyes. Next, you'll feather your new friend by tearing the cotton and adhering it to the bird's body using diluted PVA glue. The dove will take on a soft, fuzzy appearance. Cut three large feathers out of felt for each wing, and stick them onto the dove along with some tail feathers. Alternatively, you can accordion-fold small squares of white paper, pinch and hot glue at one end, then use them for the wings and tail. You're done!

Your doves can be arranged in a line on your fireplace mantel or nestled into a little basket as a centerpiece. You might also arrange them with seasonal items in a tiered cake stand in the kitchen or dining room, or add a piece of string and hang them from a mini faux tree in your entryway as a cheerful greeting for guests. They can also be glued onto long picks and tucked into houseplants so they're peeking out from amidst the foliage. No matter how you style them, these sweet doves perfectly embody the cozy and charming design trend that's completely taking over right now: modern cottage.

There are some clever ways to vary this craft to celebrate the changing seasons, holidays, or other festive occasions. You could, for example, cover the doves in pastel pink, blue, and yellow cotton craft fluff for spring, or give the birds tiny Santa hats for Christmas. A flock of these darling doves could be personalized to represent family members with scarves in each person's favorite color. Use the craft wire to form eyeglasses, or create tiny flags with toothpicks, fabric, and paper or paper towels –– paint them and emblazon them with names, school logos, or favorite sports teams, and tuck one under each bird's wing with a dab of glue. You're really only limited by your imagination.