Thursday, December 1, 2011

Eco-Friendly DIY- Gift Boxes

Hold on now, that's not junk! Before you throw out that cereal box, why not recycle it into something useful? You can turn it into a gift box, storage box, book holder, desk organizer, picture frame, etc. the possibilities are endless.

I try to recycle whenever I can, so I was really excited when my friend showed me how to make a gift box out of a cereal box. We used this site as a guide, however, I had to change a few steps because my box would not close properly. Anyway, the box came out looking so cute that I wanted to share it with you guys. This is my version- you can see the original here. This is also my way of leaving my tiny green footprint. =)

Okay, let's get started!

 
You'll be needing:
-An empty Cereal Box
-Glue (make sure it is strong enough to hold the box together)
-Scissor



Step 1: Find an empty cereal box. I am using one of my favorite cereal- Cookie Crisp =) I am still a kid at heart!

Step 2: Flip the box over(back side) and cut the box down the middle.

Step 3: Fold the box in half (horizontally)

Step 4: Fold the bottom half of the box in half

Step 5: Cut along the 4 black lines (vertically) and make a small slit where indicated (horizontally)-- see picture below

the slit is for the tab so make sure that it's long enough to fit the tab.

Step 6: Cut away the following pieces- see picture below


Step 6a:Fold the side flaps in half and cut away the extra pieces.

Step 7: Flip the box over so the image is facing you.

Step 8: Glue the front and side flaps to create the box shape.

Step 9: Fold and glue the back side- you want the box to look like this

Step 10: Fold the lid


from that to this: below






to close the box:
insert tab into slit--->
            
Step 11: Decorate the box- with stickers, stamps, cut outs, whatever you want..
you can have the box closed with the tab outside

 
or with the tab inside. Whichever you prefer.

Step 12: For filler you can fill it with
                                              -shredded advertisement or magazine pages
                                              -popcorn- they're biodegradable too
                                              -whatever soft recycled paper material you can find
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And that's it. Easy, right?
So, how did your box come out? I would love to see it =)
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Stay tune: Check back next Thursday to see how to dress (wrap) up this little box to make it the perfect Christmas present box. 

This whole month of December will feature way to recycle paper/boxes into Christmas gift wrapper! =) So, don't forget to check back every Thursday.

13 comments:

  1. That's really cute! What a great recycling idea.

    Lynette - Sweet Posy Dreams
    Blogging Buddies team

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  2. Thanks! It's easy to make too. Takes less than 10 minutes! =)

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  3. hey thanks for the great idea! was planning on buying boxes for christmas presents but i dont have to anymore! ^^ yay

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  4. Love love the box. Think I will attempt to make one also =] Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Definitely will try this for Christmas. What a great way to recycle.

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  6. Great tutorial!!
    This is so practical :)

    I'm your new follower from Etsy team "Bloggers and Readers"

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  7. Oooh, I'm going to have to try this. Great idea.

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  8. Wow, this is fun way to recycle a box. I loved it. Have to try this.

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  9. =) I am glad you guys like it. Would love to see how it turned out.

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  10. Cute idea! I upcycle my cereal boxes into comic book series dividers. ^.^

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  11. That's super cute! I was wondering if you could show me how you made that really pretty yellow flower decoration?

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