Most people just throw their boxes away once their initial usefulness expires. Below I will show you 17 things to do with a cardboard box other than throwing it out.

Re-Gifting
You can save those cardboard boxes until a time comes when you need to give someone else a present. You can use an old cardboard box to create and sturdy thank you card.

Dinner Circles
You can use an old cardboard tube, such as the ones found in aluminum foil or paper towels to create a custom napkin ring. Simple paint them up or wrap fabric around the cardboard tube and you have a beautiful one of a kind napkin ring.

Make a Plant Pot
With just a cardboard box and a trash bag with a few holes in it, you will be able to make the perfect plant pot, but although the trash bag will keep the inside of the box from getting wet, it is best to keep these cardboard plant pots inside to avoid them getting wet.

Children’s Toys
You can make some great activities for your child with a cardboard box. Sit down with your child and have an arts and crafts day and create something unique!

Storage Containers
With just a few sheets of fabric and some glue you can create some simple, yet luxurious totes. People won’t believe that you made them yourself.

Cat’s Best Friend
We all know felines love playing with boxes, but did you know you can shape and glue cardboard to make an excellent scratching post for your whiskered-friend?

A Maze
If you’ve just moved chances are you have a lot of empty boxes and probably some empty space in your house. Take the boxes all to one room and create a maze for your child to play with – at least until its time to furnish that new room.

Coasters
Get yourself some decorative duct tape or a jar of waterproof finish and you can make some drink coasters whose design is only limited by your imagination.

Tags
You can use cardboard cut outs as gift tags, price tags, or simply as labels to keep your things organized.

Weed Killer
Take a peace of cardboard and place it on a weed riddled area of your lawn. By spraying water on the cardboard, the weeds below will drown with no access to the sun to dry them up, now just lay over some fresh top soil and plant your grass.

Paint Palette 
A simple cut out of a cardboard box makes an excellent paint palette for the artists out there.

Book Organization
You can use rectangular cardboard containers to store your magazines or books in on your bookshelf.

Party Decor
A lot of people use paper to create streamers and banners for their parties, but if you use cardboard it make give your party a much more professional look.

Canvases
Coat your cardboard with primer and white paint. The cardboard wont have the same properties as real canvas but any artist worth his weight could still make it work.

Bird Feeder
By using the cardboard in a paper towel row, you can make a bird feeder for the local birds.

Gift Bags
Teachers can use cardboard to make unique gift bags for their students on special occasions. Perfect for parents too!

Picture Mats
Cut the cardboard in a square and wrap it in thin fabric and you have a custom made picture mat. They will make an excellent addition to your frames.

A present that’s handmade is a precious thing. It’s worth much more than anything you can purchase at the store, too. If you want to wow someone with a gift they’ll cherish for life, bake cookies or anything else and package them with care and love. The present will stand the test of time for sure. It can be wise to make use of a particularly attractive and sturdy container as well. Gift recipients consume the tasty foods that are in the containers. The containers, however, last for ages. People can depend on them to store all sorts of items. Some random examples are coins, accessories, letters, paper clips and stationery.

‘Decoupage’ is how French people say “cut out.” If you cut something out, you can proceed by placing it right on top of a flat surface. Visit a local store that specializes in arts and crafts supplies and hobbies in general. You should be able to easily come across numerous boxes that are unfinished. These boxes shouldn’t cost a lot, either. They typically consist of light wood or sturdy cardboard. They’re generally accessible in sizes big, medium and small. Many shape options are typically accessible as well. You should be able to locate a box that can easily accommodate all of your requirements.

Decoupage is a practice that can suit so many kinds of containers. It can suit containers that are composed of the majority of material options out there. Metal isn’t an exception. It can be appropriate for all forms of artwork, too. If you find magazine images that strike your fancy, decoupage can be a good activity. Decoupage can be fitting for images that come from greeting cards, catalogs, books and a whole lot more. Some people go for fabric decoupage.

If you take the time to research decoupage, you should get a lot of inspiration. Getting immersed in the universe of decoupage can be quite a motivating and fulfilling experience for any arts and crafts lover.

Think carefully about the exact color of the box you use for decoupage applications. Does it provide your project with an unassuming background? Is it beige, off-white or white? It can work well to select a color that doesn’t interfere with your overall design and theme in any manner. You want to prioritize a shade that doesn’t steal the show at all. Acrylic gesso can come in handy for decoupage projects. If you apply a significant amount of coating, it should contribute to a surface that’s even, nice and free of any imperfections and roughness. Acrylic paint can make a strong choice for a background. It’s also imperative to go for a classic decoupage finish. This finish can keep the design on for good. These materials are water-soluble and because of that won’t lead to the need for extensive and time-consuming cleanup work.

Think about trying an antiquing finish. This kind of finish can give your box a pleasant nostalgic and traditional vibe. If you want your box to complement the style of the woodcut beautifully, antiquing finish can be effective. Antiquing is optimal on top of backdrops that are comparatively light and subtle in atmosphere. Avoid trying antiquing on backgrounds that are loud or excessively flashy and fancy. You don’t want your project to look too busy and involved. Decoupage projects for candy boxes can be joyous experiences

Although many things change and develop with time, there are still a few things where the original design is still the best. One of these items is the cardboard box. It is said that the cardboard box dates all the way back to 1817! In today’s world with all of the technology and “better ways to do things”, it is estimated that 90% of all items shipped, use some type of cardboard packaging. Surprising isn’t it! That being said, as a result, that’s a lot of waste when we are done with the box!

This useful guide will help you not only reduce the waste, but also provide useful ways to make your life a daily tasks easier and cheaper. Impress your friends with your creativity!

1. Re-Gifting
This one is my favorite. Usually you can find a box to fit the item better without the need for all of that messy Styrofoam packing. The best part is that it adds an additional element of surprise with the receiver unwraps the gift. The box doesn’t give away what’s inside!

2. Napkin Bands
These are a great way to spice up any event. It really adds class to any event when the napkins are rolled neatly with a touch of creativity. All you need is tube from a paper towel roll and some fabric. You can usually get the fabric as scraps from a fabric shop.

3. Storage.
Cardboard boxes have many options. You can cover the box with fabric, or even paint it with left over paint from when you painted the room. The paint or fabric with some tacks or pins from a craft store lets you personalize as much or little as you wish.

4. Cats Love It!
Let’s face it, cats love empty boxes! Why, we do not know but they love them. You can use anything from a heavy duty thick box, to a tissue box. Basically give them the box and sit back and watch.

5. Painting
It’s always good to have extra cardboard around when doing painting jobs. It works great as a floor covering to keep paint from getting everywhere. It even works to wipe off excess paint from brushes when done.

6. Wall Art
Cardboard boxes that are small and thin are great ways to make neat wall art. You can personalize it to your liking. Different sizes, shapes and thicknesses allow you to add some dimension to the art as well.

7. Bird Feeder
This is a great way to recycle. Birds are like cats, for some reason they like the natural smell of cardboard. Usually a cardboard tube from a paper towel roll or similar works great. Fill it or cover it with birdseed then sit back and watch.

8. Packing
Just as you can re-use a box to ship something, you can also use a box for packing. You can use it to add packing material or even smaller boxes in a larger box. It works great and is very universal.

These are just a few things that cardboard can be re-purposed for. There are many others. The best way to find those uses is whenever you are in a pinch, ask yourself if cardboard can be used as a solution. You may be surprised!

There are lots of people who come up with a holiday to-do lists that they are never able to find the time to accomplish. One of their wish list is to give treats such as gourmet candies and chocolates. But they want the treats to look as if they were not homemade so when they give it to their friends, they won’t have a clue that these treats were just done in the kitchen. What is the best thing to make homemade chocolates and candies look like they are expensive?

The first thing that people will notice when they are given a gift is the packaging. Therefore, packing them in attractive and specially made candy boxes will make these sweeties more attractive and exciting. With specially made boxes, the candies and chocolate won’t appear homemade. It is really not that difficult to create unique and attractive gift boxes. All a person needs is some box materials, simple tools, glue or paste and the most important requirement: creative imagination. Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and the simple steps described in this article will be very useful to those who are thinking along this line.

Think About the Design of the Box

The very first thing to think about is the design of the box. First impression counts and the first thing that will register in the mind of the recipient of the gift are the shape and look of the gift box, not the items inside it. For people who want to make an impression, they should make candy boxes that are uniquely their own. Old but still usable boxes can be re-purposed as gift boxes. To make it unique, one can cover the box with a fresh gift wrapping. The box will be more relevant to the occasion if the wrapping contains design elements that relates to the event being celebrated.

Determine the Size of the Box

A box could only contain a specific number of candies. In other words, the size of the box will determine the maximum amount of candies that it can contain. Old but still reusable boxes can be used. If old and reusable boxes are not available, one can always go to the local bookshop or store to get the box or number of boxes required.

How to Come Up with the Appropriate Box Size

People can use the Christmas gift boxes in lingerie sizes. They usually come in 8.5” X 11” sizes. Around 2 dozens of candies can fit inside this box size. A person needs to adjust the size of the box according to the total number of candies he or she wants to give to the recipient.

How to Enhance the Look of the Box

Following are the steps in improving the appearance of the box:

1. Separate the corners of the box carefully.
2. Wrap the corners with foil wrapping paper.
3. Cut a piece of paper that will be used to wrap the inside edge and then glue it down.
4. Fold the corners again as they were before and glue them down firmly.
5. Hide the corner flaps under the foil wrapping.
6. Glue a piece of white printer paper on the inside bottom of the box
7. To prevent the candies from sliding around inside the box, glue the bottom of the candy wrappers in their respective places on the white printer paper that is glued at the bottom of the box.

Moving day can be a complete disaster if you do not know how to pack all of your items properly in advance. Since there are different guidelines and rules for packing special items like electronics, it is important that you find out what they are first, and then following the recommendations closely. Having said that, here are 6 tips that should be used in homes and office moves too, especially if you do not want any unexpected surprises.

Tip #1 – Before considering placing your electronics like computers in cardboard boxes, it is essential that you make backups of all your electronic files. To anticipate problems that can be encountered, you must be prepared for any situation. So, one of the best things that you can do is make at least 2 separate copies. For instance, you can back up your computer files by transferring the data to a USB or an external storage drive as a resource. Whatever the situation or the preference, 2 copies can help to provide you with peace of mind.

Tip #2 – Take a Picture of all of the cables involved along with each of the corresponding cables
In case you have a lot of electronics to transport from old location to the new location, you must prepare a well laid out plan prior to moving them to cardboard boxes. If you don’t, the aftermath of moving day can be a very frustrating experience for everyone involved. Especially, since cable and connectors come in a lot of different colors with similar technologies that may be difficult to distinguish one from another.

Tip #3 – Bag up all of the accessories to your electronics

Just like lots of cables and connectors can be cumbersome to keep organized throughout the move, there is a host of other accessories that must be kept together. For instance, computers and other electronics have a variety of different extras as well. From ink cartridges to batteries, all of which will need to be removed from the electronics and backed up in separate bags with labels. Therefore, when you get to the new location, you will know exactly where all of your accessories should go. It is also important to note that this process may take a little extra time, but it is well worth in the long run. Specifically, since these items will be easy to put together if you already have the labeling and instructions you need on each.

Tip #4 – Pack Electronics in their Original Boxes
Most people may not know the importance of keeping the original boxes until they have to pack things up for moving day. Therefore, for those of you who still have the original packaging with foam protectors, these are ideal for saving time and extra identifications.

Tip #5 – No Original Boxes – Secure the Right types of Assemble Packaging
While the original boxes for packaging is preferred, it may not be available when it is really needed. So, if you want to use another alternative that will still make it easy, you should make sure that you have secured boxes, foams, anti-wrap bubbles and other identifying tools that will help to make things much easier. People should also make sure that they have a huge supply so that no one runs out while things are still in progress.