How to Decorate Your Own Cardboard Guitar

Decorate a cardboard box guitar with paint.

Kids love to imitate the rock stars they see on TV, and a fun way to let them do this is to make cardboard guitars. These crafts are made from materials you may have around your house and basic art supplies that can be found at any store that sells art supplies. Though these cardboard guitars are not playable, they are perfect for letting children pretend to strum along to all of their favorite songs.

Things You'll Need

• Cardboard box
• Paper towel tube
• Rubber bands
• Hot glue gun
• Tempura paint
• Paintbrushes
• Painter's palette

Instructions

Building a Cardboard Guitar

1. Trace a circle on the top of a shoebox and cut the hole out with a pair of scissors. You can also use a tissue box, as these already have a hole cut of the top. However, tissue boxes are not as sturdy as shoeboxes.

2. Glue a pencil about 1 inch below the sound hole with a hot glue gun.

3. Stretch rubber bands over the box and over the sound hole.

4. Glue or tape a paper towel tube onto the top of the box, parallel with the direction of the rubber bands.

5. Wait for all the glue to finish drying before continuing to the next section.

Decorating a Cardboard Guitar

1. Place a drop cloth or newspapers down on the surface where you are planning to decorate the cardboard guitar. This will make cleaning up easier after you have finished.

2. Pour some water into a small cup for cleaning paintbrushes.

3. Squeeze tempura paint from a bottle or tube into a small painter's palette or plastic tray.

4. Dip a paintbrush into a color of paint. Swipe the paintbrush across the surface of the cardboard guitar. Continue to apply paint to the surface until the area you want to paint is completely covered.

5. Dip the paintbrush into the cup of water each time you need to change colors. Wring out the bristles of the paintbrush with your fingers before dipping it into another color of paint.

6. Wait for the paint to air dry on the cardboard guitar before letting children play with it.

Tips & Warnings

• Other art supplies can be used to decorate a cardboard guitar. For example, sprinkle glitter over wet paint on a cardboard guitar to create a shimmering effect or use a black marker to draw a realistic guitar neck inlay on the paper towel tube.

References

• Enchanted Learning: Box Guitar
• Happy Living: How to Make a Homemade Guitar With a Shoebox