How to Recycle Cardboard Box Material with ColourArte & Video Tutorial

Happy New Year!  Can you believe it is already 2016?  I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday.  But now it is time to create again.  As I sit here amongst all of the brown cardboard boxes left over from Christmas, I find it hard to toss them away without finding some use for some of it.  I love making books and book covers, so that is where my thoughts led me.

This corrugated cardboard was just part of the packaging in one of our Christmas gifts.  It was already folded and I saw a book!  The dimensions are 16-½" x 7-⅝".  You can copy this exactly if you score at 4-¾", 5", 10-⅜", and 11-⅜".

Front Cover

Inside Cover

Closed Cover

I have included a brief video tutorial of this easy, step-by-step process.  I hope you enjoy it!

Supplies Used:

ColourArte Primary Elements Artist Pigments

• English Lavender
• Blue Grass

ColourArte Silks Acrylic Glaze:

• Apricot Nectar
• Moss Green
• Bolivian Blue
• Chestnut Brown

Other supplies Used:

Corrugated cardboard from packaging
Golden Coarse Molding Past
Liquitex white gesso
DecoArt Decou-Page glue
Art-C Paper Pad
Sizzix/Tim Holtz die:  Honeycomb, Mixed Media
Antique Gold closure handles (Paper Studio)
Tim Holtz Ideaology Alpha Parts Framed (Documented)
American Crafts printed chipboard letter stickers (2015)
Ranger Glue n' Seal
Tombo Mono Liquid Glue
Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue
Awl or paper piercer


I hope you have been inspired to turn some of your cardboard packagine into a one-of-a-kind a book to hold your notes, thoughts, or just reminders for 2016.  Of course, you can make your book any size you choose.  Have fun with it.  You just might look at your packing materials in a different way!

Wishing you all the best in the New Year!

Barbara