15 Cardboard Crafts That Are Easy to Make
This post may contain affiliate links.
We often find ourselves with an excess of boxes. Cereal boxes pile up as we enjoy breakfast daily, and shipping boxes from online orders keep accumulating. You might even have old moving or storage boxes you no longer need. So why not recycle it and create a fun DIY project?
Yes, that’s right. It’s time to take those old cereal boxes or shipping boxes that arrived in the mail and begin crafting. This can be a creative and enjoyable way to repurpose them into cardboard crafts.
Here are 15 ideas that we think you are going to love.
1. Castle Trinket Box
Turn a cardboard shoebox into a fun castle that kids can play with – or better yet, use it to store small items. You’ll notice the trinket box has a working drawbridge in front of the castle, which will be the perfect way for kids to pretend the castle is open and for all to come and see the prince or princess.
Make this Craft: Castle Trinket Box
2. Cardboard Cactus Craft
Turn those cardboard boxes or small cardboard pieces into cactuses. Put the cactus together in a clay pot with some sand and have a fun porch or table decoration for the summer.
Make this Craft: Cardboard Cactus Craft
3. Cardboard Airplane
Kids will love helping you use cardboard to make this airplane. It has a working propeller, and once it’s put together, they can pretend to fly the plane around the house or outside in the yard.
Make this Craft: Cardboard Airplane
4. Cardboard Donut Pinata
Did you know that you can use the Cricut machine to cut cardboard? Using the Cricut to cut the cardboard is an easy task, and Angie shows you how to cut and create a cute donut pinata.
Make this Craft: Cardboard Donut Pinata
5. Cardboard Gift Tages
Instead of letting cardboard scraps go to waste, turn them into gift tags to spread holiday cheer. You can use custom fabrics and other craft materials to decorate and make your own custom tags.
Make this Craft: Cardboard Gift Tages
6. Cereal Box Notebooks
Who knew you could get so creative with cereal boxes? Use empty cereal boxes to create notebooks that can be used to journal, take notes, and so much more.
Make this Craft: Cereal Box Notebooks
7. Cardboard Tube Giraffe
Don’t throw those cardboard tubes that you get with wrapping paper away! Save it for a fun project for kids instead. For instance, cardboard tubes were used to create this large giraffe.
Make this Craft: Cardboard Tube Giraffe
8. Cereal Box Pirate Ship
Here’s another creative and fun cardboard craft for kids. You can turn cereal boxes, shoe boxes, or thin pieces of cardboard into pirate ships for kids to play with.
Make this Craft: Cereal Box Pirate Ship
9. Foldable Doll House
Another great way to reuse cereal boxes is to make a foldable doll house for kids to play with. Kids can design their rooms for each of their dolls, a kitchen, a living room, and more.
Make this Craft: Foldable Doll House
10. Cardboard Space Shuttle
It is a simple but fun cardboard craft that you can make for kids to play with. This space shuttle uses a large cardboard box and is turned into a space shuttle that kids can enter as they pretend they are heading off to space.
Make this Craft: Cardboard Space Shuttle
11. Mini Swimming Pool
Use a smaller cardboard piece to make a fun pool for kids to play with their toys. You can decorate the pool area with trees, animals, rocks, and more.
Make this Craft: Mini Swimming Pool
12. Dragon Shield
Kids love to pretend they are fighting these big monsters, being superheroes, and dueling with others. It’s a natural thing for them to do. To help them with their fight, they can make a fun dragon shield with cardboard and other various items.
Make this Craft: Dragon Shield
13. Cereal Box Christmas Trees
This will be a fun craft for kids to make, and you can use the Christmas trees as holiday décor. You only need a few supplies, and you can let the kids get creative with decorating the trees however they want.
Make this Craft: Cereal Box Christmas Trees
14. Custom Stamped Business Cards
Making business cards isn’t typically considered a cardboard craft, but it works and is a great way to recycle cardboard.
Make this Craft: Custom Stamped Business Cards
15. Cardboard Robot Costume
Do you need a Halloween costume that you can make at home, or do you want to put together a fun play robot outfit for the kids? You can easily make one out of cardboard boxes, and the kids will love it.
Make this Craft: Cardboard Robot Costume
16. Cardboard Dog Kennel
Let the kids get creative and make a home for their stuffed animals. One of the cutest and easiest cardboard crafts is to make a dog house for their stuffed animal puppies.
Make this Craft: Cardboard Dog Kennel