How to Make Gift Boxes from Recycled Magazines

Set of three nested boxes made from recycled magazines

Looking for a clever, low-cost gift idea? Read this article before you put those old magazines in the recycle bin!

Things You'll Need

• Old magazines
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Ruler
• Pencil

Instructions

1. Browse through your magazines and look for colorful pages with interesting graphics.

2. Tear out the pages that look interesting.

3. Pick the most visually compelling section of the page. Draw an 8" square in that area.

4. Cut the square out.

5. 

   On the side you want inside the box, lightly draw a diagonal line from each corner. You should now see a big "X" covering the square.

6. 

   Fold each corner to the center of the "X". You should now have a smaller square with the four corners folded into the center.

7. 

   Open the flaps. Turn the square so one of pointed ends faces straight at you.

8. 

   Fold that corner back toward the center where the lines of the "X" intersect. .

9. 

   Then fold that entire side horizontally toward the center where the lines of the "X" intersect

10. Open the flap. Now do the same thing to the other three sides.

11. 

    Open the square. You should now see lots of little folded squares throughout the piece.

12. 

    Turn the piece so one of the pointed ends faces straight at you. Look for two vertical folds on either side of the vertically drawn line. Cut vertically along those two folds until you are one square away from the horizontally drawn line.

13. Turn the piece 180 degrees and do the same thing on the other side.

14. 

    Turn the piece so one of the pointed ends faces straight at you. Glue down the four small triangular flaps that surround the center column of squares.

15. 

    Fold the large side flaps in.

16. 

    Now fold those sides up.

17. 

    Now fold in the small tabs, top and bottom, so you have an open square in the center of the piece.

18. 

    Glue the top and bottom flaps and fold them over the square.

19. 

    You now have the top of the box!

20. Follow the same procedure for the bottom of the box, but instead of making it an 8" square, make it a 7-13/16" square.

Tips & Warnings

• Practice first with a blank sheet of white paper so you can see the "X" and all the folds clearly.

• Magazines printed on heavier paper work best.

• You can make nested boxes by making each successive box 1" smaller than the one before.

• Choose pages for the top and bottom of the box that are complementary, so you'll have a unified and visually appealing box.

• Use the boxes to hold gifts -- or to be gifts themselves!

• Draw the "X" lightly, or you'll see the lines come through the other side of the box.

• These boxes are fragile, so choose what you'll be putting in them carefully.

• Be sure to ask any teenagers involved if they really are done reading those magazines before you cut into them!

Resources

• Blingaling - Playful Art from Recycled Objects