How to Make the Best Box for Valentine's Day With a Shoe Box

Decorate a shoe box to collect and store your Valentine's Day cards.

Celebrating Valentine's Day often involves handing out Valentine's Day cards. If you plan to receive multiple Valentine's Day cards or your child's school class is handing out cards, you may want to make a Valentine's Day box. Shoe boxes work well for a Valentine's Day card box. You can easily decorate the box in a Valentine's Day theme using simple craft supplies that you may have around your home. Keep your Valentine's Day cards stored in your box as a keepsake of the holiday.

Things You'll Need

• Knife
• White, red or pink butcher paper
• Scissors
• Tape
• Glue
• Paper heart-shaped doilies
• Red, white or pink construction paper
• Markers
• Stickers
• Glitter

Instructions

1. Remove the lid from a shoe box and place it on a flat work surface. Cut a 1-inch by 6-inch rectangular slit in the center of the lid with a knife.

2. Unroll a large piece of white, red or pink butcher paper on the work surface. Place the shoe box lid on top of the paper. Cut a piece of paper large enough to wrap the lid in with a pair of scissors. Place the shoe box on the remaining paper. Cut a second piece of paper that is large enough to wrap around the box.

3. Wrap the shoe box and lid separately in their corresponding pieces of paper. Fold the edges of the paper over the top edges of the box and tape them to the box's insides to secure. Fold the paper's edges over the lip of the lid and tape them down on the underside of the lid.

4. Cut a line in the paper covering the slit in the lid. Fold the paper inward around the edges of the slit. Tape the paper edges in place to the inside of the lid. Place the lid on the box.

5. Decorate your box by gluing on paper heart-shaped doilies. Cut out heart shapes from red, white or pink construction paper and glue them to the sides and top of the box. Layer the paper and doily hearts to create multi-colored hearts to glue to your box.

6. Write your name on the box with markers. Draw hearts and polka dots onto the box with the markers. Place stickers over the surface of the box to add further decoration. Trace hearts or dots in glue onto the box. Sprinkle glitter over the glue before it dries.

References

• Activity Village.co.uk: Valentine Card Collection Box
• Nick Jr.: Shoe Box Valentine Mailbox
• Share Holidays; Make a Valentine's Mailbox; Dawn Applegate