While you are waiting for spring flowers to bloom, make colorful egg carton flowers.

Cut apart an egg carton to turn the egg cups into flowers. Trim the edges of each cup into petals with rounded or angled cuts. Try out a variety of shapes and sizes for the petals. Scraps of the egg carton can be used for cutting into a flower stamen (the frilly part in the middle) or smaller shapes that can be layered. Use flat pieces of the carton lid to cut leaves.

Paint all of the flower segments and leaves. When the paint is dry, assemble any layered pieces with glue.

To make a wreath, start by gluing leaf segments onto a hoop or wreath frame and then glue on groups of flowers. Continue to add leaves and flowers until you have filled the wreath as desired.

Katie Patterson Larson is the director and founder of Art Salvage, a creative reuse center in Spokane. Art Salvage keeps usable materials out of the waste stream and makes them accessible and affordable to everyone. For more information, visit artsalvagespokane.com.