How to Make Gift Boxes from Recycled Magazines

Crafters have been recycling a long time with items they find, such as jewelry and decorations. One thing that is most available in people’s homes are magazines, and they can be used for many projects, including making gift boxes. The next time you finish reading a magazine; don’t throw it in the recycle bin, because you can easily make gift boxes with them.

1. Gather all of your magazines in your home that you are finished reading. Browse through them, and find pages that have good graphics and are colorful. Tear these pages out.


2. Cut an 8-inch square out from the part of the magazine page that is the most colorful.


3. From the magazine page that you want to show inside of the gift box, use a pencil or pen and draw a diagonal line in each corner. When you are finished, you should have an X that covers the square.


4. Fold the corners to the middle of the X to make a smaller square. Open the flaps on the square and turn it around so the pointed ends are facing you. Fold the corner towards the middle where the lines on the X are intersecting, and then fold the side horizontally towards the middle where the lines of the X are interesting.


5. Open the flap and repeat the process for all three sides of the square. Open the square when you are finished. You should have many small folder squares throughout the square.


6. Turn it around so one of the pointed ends is facing you. Find two vertical folds on each side of the line you drew. Use scissors to cut along those two lines, and stop when you are only one square away from the line that is drawn horizontally.


7. Turn the piece around and repeat the process for the other side.  Turn it around until one of the ends is facing you. Glue down the four triangle flaps around the center squares, and then fold the larger side flaps in.


8. Fold the sides up, and then fold the small tabs in, bottom and top. When you are done, you should have an open square. Glue the bottom flaps, and then glue the top flaps. Fold them both over the square. The top of the box is now finished.


9. Repeat the same steps again for the bottom, but this time the square should be 7 and 13/16 inches square.