If you like Star Wars then you’re going to love this Darth Vader craft made from an egg carton by contributor Tracey from Jumbletree. Tracy is quite the genius with egg cartons, see her full collection of Star Wars mini figures at the end of the tutorial.

Cue sinister music, Darth Vader is back… and he means business!

And if you have any young Star Wars fans in your life, then why not have a go at making this easy little mini figure?

How to make Darth Vader from and egg carton

You will need:

• Egg carton
• Craft scissors
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Black paint
• Silver metallic pen (fine/medium nib)
• PVA/craft glue
• Red/pink straw
• Black permanent marker (like a sharpie)
• Nail scissors (optional) Adult supervision needed

How to:

1. Roughly cut out two middle cones from an egg carton so they’re easier to work with.
2.  On one of them, draw a line all the way around the cone, just above the bumpy card joins at the bottom. Cut along the line and check the cone sits level on a flat surface. This will be the body.
3.  For the head, take the second cone, and use a ruler and pencil to measure and mark about 2cm (3/4in.)  from the top on each side. Join the marks with a rough line. Cut out the head – a good way to do this is to cut up two adjacent corners to the line, bend back the card flap on the line and cut the flap off. It’s now easier to cut along the rest of the line.
4.  Glue the head onto the body. Cut a strip of card from the egg carton lid for the arms – make it roughly 0.5cm wide(1/4in.) and about 5 to 6cm long (2in.)
5. Paint the body and the arm strip black.
6. While that’s drying, cut about 4cm (11/2in.) off the end of a straw and use a black marker pen to colour in the handle of the lightsaber.
7. Use the silver marker to add detail to Darth Vader’s head and body, using the picture here as a guide.
8. When the paint is dry, bend the card strip in half and cut along the crease, then either glue the arms on each side of the body, just below the head – or, with supervision, make slots either side using the nail scissors (keep them closed, press down and twist – once you’ve made a hole, cut slots to fit the arms). Dab some glue inside the cone, behind the holes, and slot the arms into place.
9. Make small snips up the handle end of the lighsaber, so you can slot it onto the bottom of Darth Vader’s arm, and he’s ready for action!

More star wars character tutorials

• Luke Skywalker
• Princess Lia
• Obi Wan Kenobi
• R2D2