How to Make a Cereal Box and Juice Carton Placemat

Recycle your favorite breakfast food packaging into a fun placemat. With a little help, children can create a cereal box and juice carton placemat that will brighten up their morning meal. It's a great rainy day activity that teaches kids about weaving and recycling.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Empty juice carton
• Empty cereal box
• Scissors
• Contact paper

1. Pull open the seams of the juice carton. Disassemble it. Cut off the front panel from the cereal box. Cut the cardboard from the juice carton into 1/2-inch strips.

2. Fold the cardboard from the cereal box in half lengthwise with the printed side on the inside. Mark a line 1 inch from the open edge.

3. Measure the folded piece of cardboard. Determine how far apart slits should be cut. Use scissors to cut through the cardboard. Start at the fold and end at the line. The cuts can be straight or slightly wavy.

4. Lay the cereal box cardboard flat on a table with the printed side facing up.

5. Weave the strips from the juice box through the slits in the cereal box cardboard. Alternate rows with one under and one over.

6. Trim the excess cardboard from the edges of the placemat.

7. Cover the finished placemat with clear contact paper or a protective film.

Tips & Warnings

• As you work on the project, teach kids weaving terms. The "warp" refers the threads the run lengthwise. The "weft" is threads that are weaved across the warp. The "web" is the end result.