Stay-home craft ideas for kids: How to turn empty cereal box into book holder

Don't throw away empty cereal boxes. Here's an easy, fun recycling art project that you can work on with your kids. Learn how you can turn those boxes into useful book or file holders.

What you need

• Empty cereal box
• Exacto knife or blade
• Pencil
• Eraser (optional)
• Ruler
• Paintbrush or roller
• Primer for acrylic paint, such as gesso
• Acrylic paint
• Strong double-sided sticky tape or hot glue gun
• Small scissors
• Colourful washi tape, in 2 or 3 designs
• Mod Podge

How to do

1. The cereal box will be used inside out, as the inside surface is unprinted. Carefully take the box apart, using the knife or blade to pry off glued areas.
2. Using the exacto knife, cut the box into the shape pictured. The sloping edges are at a 45-degree angle. For accuracy, first use pencil and ruler to mark where you will cut.
3. Use a paintbrush or roller to paint the box with one to two coats of primer. Allow primer to dry. Once dry, paintbox with two coats of acrylic paint.
4. Reassemble box inside out using double-sided tape or a hot glue gun.
5. To create the chevron design, use the pencil to draw an even zigzag around the box. You only need to draw one zigzag line as a guide to start off. It may be easier to start in the middle of the box.
6. Stick down tape in the zigzag pattern, one row at a time, overlapping the ends. Use the blade or scissors to trim the ends. Use tape to finish all the box edges as shown.
7. Once design is complete, paint the entire box with two coats of Mod Podge to make the magazine holder more durable and give it a nice shine.

This article was first published in Young Parents.