When I was a young (crafty) child fresh off the plane from Nigeria, I was amazed at how much useful stuff people would throw out. This led to me saving a whole bunch of those styrofoam trays from the grocery store. I just knew they could be turned into something. I made lots of picture frames, but after a while, I had to let them go because they were rapidly piling up. This was a pivotal point in my 'junk to treasure' attitude. Today, I still love to save little bottles, cans, boxes, etc to be used for something later. More and more lately I'm finding things that can be reused. This goes with the whole GREEN movement, but hey, I was Green before Green was green!
It is my aim with my etsy shop to use as many 'upcycled' items in my work as possible. I am really impressed with the things I've been able to make from household discards. Following is a tutorial for a small shipping box.
Small Shipping box from a drink carton.
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If your household is anything like mine, you go through a lot of containers: Cereal boxes, soup cans, soymilk cartons, jugs, etc. It kills me to throw these things away, so I've been saving them to use. Here's a pictorial of me making a small shipping box with an empty juice carton (you know, the dole/welch's juice kind)
You will need:
-Craft Knife with a fairly sharp blade (I used my trusty 10 year old X-acto)
-tape
-paper to wrap the box in (as USPS won't allow you to use any old box)
-small item to be shipped.
Steps:
Step 2: Slice each of the four corners to the desired depth toaccomodate whatever object you're sending. I just eyeballed it, but if you're anal about this type of stuff you can measure.
Step 3: Fold down each of the four sides, and crease.
Step 4: Place the object to be mailed in the box, fold down the flaps and secure the box with tape.
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