How to Decorate a Cardboard Box

Actually this is not so much how to decorate your box, as it is how to get a box to decorate. What do you do when your kid needs a nice neat box to decorate for a Valentine’s Day party, or for some other project, and you don’t have a shoebox handy? Or you have a shoebox but it is covered with logos and print? You can cover it with segments of construction paper that never quite fit right, or try what we do. I’m always surprised at how surprised people are when they see me do this. But they are surprised, so I guess I need to share it so other people know about it!

Take any cardboard box: food containers such as cereal boxes work great, but heavier boxes used for shipping will work too.

Carefully take the box apart at the seams – no cutting! Use a butter knife to pry the seams apart if the glue is heavy, but often it will just lift away with a little pressure.

Open all the seams and lay the box out flat, then press the folds in the opposite direction.

Now fold the box back into its original shape, but inside out. (It helps to crease the seams heavily in the opposite direction first.) Use heavy packing tape to reseal the seams.

You can cut a hole before or after taping. If after, do it carefully as the pressure can cause the tape seams to reopen. Also keep in mind that certain decorations won’t “take” on top of the tape (crayon, washable markers) and so should be done before taping. Black or colored Sharpie markers will draw on top of the tape fine, and stickers or glitter glue will adhere on top of the packing tape as well.

You now have a blank box, suitable for coloring, drawing, stickering, glittering, or otherwise decorating, without having to cover up whatever is printed on the box in the first place. Use as a receptacle for Valentine’s cards, a money donation box, a mailbox for your kids’ rooms (don’t you send notes to each other?), or a doll bed. Use larger boxes for puppet theaters or cars or hideaways or whatever other use you or your children can dream up. It’s also a great way to get a blank box to use for shipping something in the mail.

How will you use your blank box? Share your ideas in the comments!