upcycle: cereal box to gift bag (tutorial) |Keeping it Real

Monday, April 27, 2015

upcycle: cereal box to gift bag (tutorial)

upcycle, cereal box upcycle, cereal box to gift bag

Today I bring you a very easy and useful upcycle idea. We have a lot of birthday parties coming up in the next two weeks and instead of buying a lot of gift bags, I decided to make my own, using cereal boxes and turning them into this:

upcycle, cereal box upcycle, cereal box to gift bag

Want to try it?

Here is what you need: an empty cereal box, wrapping paper + glue or self adhesive paper (I used self adhesive because I have a huge roll of it leftover from another project and I'm trying to declutter) and matching ribbon (for the bag handles).

upcycle, cereal box upcycle, cereal box to gift bagupcycle, cereal box upcycle, cereal box to gift bag

First, cut the top flaps of the cereal box, so you're left with something that looks like this:

upcycle, cereal box upcycle, cereal box to gift bag


Start with one of the largest sides of the box and glue the paper:

upcycle, cereal box upcycle, cereal box to gift bag



Cut the paper at the top of the box as shown below. The extra paper is folded over and glued to the inside of the box:

upcycle, cereal box upcycle, cereal box to gift bag


Next, glue the sides:

upcycle, cereal box upcycle, cereal box to gift bag

upcycle, cereal box upcycle, cereal box to gift bag


 And finally the bottom and other large side of the box. You'll be left with this:

upcycle, cereal box upcycle, cereal box to gift bag

upcycle, cereal box upcycle, cereal box to gift bag


If you want, you can add a matching tag. I glued some leftover paper over a piece of pink cardboard (to be able to write a name or a message in the tag) and used the Sizzix to cut a flower shape:

upcycle, cereal box upcycle, cereal box to gift bag
tag front

upcycle, cereal box upcycle, cereal box to gift bag
tag back




Fold the sides of the box slightly towards the inside (only at the top), so that it starts to look more like a bag and less like a box:

upcycle, cereal box upcycle, cereal box to gift bag


Cut two pieces of ribbon, punch two holes at the top of each side of the box (measure to make sure they are centered). If you're adding a tag, punch a hole in it too, start threading the ribbons through the holes and tie a knot at each end of the ribbons, to keep them in place...

upcycle, cereal box upcycle, cereal box to gift bag


...so you're left with something like this in the end:

upcycle, cereal box upcycle, cereal box to gift bag


And you're done. You have one personalized gift bag at almost no cost, sturdier than most store bought paper gift bags.

upcycle, cereal box upcycle, cereal box to gift bag

Now, the next time you have an empty cereal box at home, remember you can turn it into something useful and cute instead of just throwing it away!

Enjoy,




37 comments:

  1. This is a great idea! Gift bags are so expensive, and this will make a much better bag anyways as you say. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. They come together pretty quickly and you can make them with items we all have at home! Thank you for stopping by!

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  2. Ha! What a creative idea!

    Thanks for joining the Link Up this week!

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  3. What a great idea! That is so clever and it turned out so pretty! Gift bags are so expensive and by turning a cereal box into a great bag you could personalize it just for the person your giving it to. thanks for sharing! Pinning!

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    1. That's the idea! Thank you for stopping by and for sharing!

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  4. What a clever idea to use what you already have, and it not cost you any more money!!! Thanks for sharing at Together on Tuesdays :)

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    1. Thank you Lisa! You can bet I'll be making more of these in the future!

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  5. I love to repurpose items......your tutorial on Cereal Box Gift Bag is a great idea.
    Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!

    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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  6. Wow! That looks great. My mind just doesn't work like that to see potential in stuff. But thank goodness for the internet so I can use other people's vision! haha. Thanks for linking up to #BigTopBlogParty

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    1. sometimes great ideas pop up...and other times, not so much, we all have our days. But you're right, the web is an endless source of inspiration, Thank you for stopping by!

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  7. What a wonderful idea! We go through a lot of cereal at my house, so I will have to give this a try. Thanks for sharing at What'd You Do This Weekend? I hope you will join us again this Monday!

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  8. Cute idea. Pinned and tweeted. I hope to see you on Monday at 7, we can’t wait to party with you! Lou Lou Girls

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    1. Thank you Kimberly! Linked up to this week's party already!

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  9. Here from #HomeMattersParty
    Oh, the boxes I have thrown away!! I'm lamenting them now!! Even at $1 each, it adds up!

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    1. There will be others...Thank you for stopping by!

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  10. I'm visiting from the #SoMe2 linkup. This is really a cute idea. Pinning to try - we wrap a lot of gifts in newspaper, & to be even more environmentally friendly I might cover the box in that! :)

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    1. Newspaper cutouts should look great! You can even cut some letters to create a personalized message!

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  11. That's so cute and creative! We certainly have our fair share of cereal boxes around here. My kids would love to help make this.

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    1. They will, though be prepared to "loose" some of the boxes...been there, done that...Thank you for stopping by!

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  12. Oh my goodness! That is really cute. Thanks for linking up at the Monday Mash-Up with such a creative post!

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  13. LOVE this idea...so cute! Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty - we hope to see you again next week. :)

    ~Lorelai
    Life With Lorelai

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    1. Thank you, I'll link up this week for sure!

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  14. What a great idea!! I love upcycling!! Thanks for sharing on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday - Link Party!! Hope to see you again tomorrow!! Love having you!! Pinned!!

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  15. What a unique idea. I love it!

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  16. I love this. Great idea and great tutorial. Thanks for sharing. I came over from a linky. I'll visit awhile and see what else is going on! Have a great weekend. Smiles, Sherry

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    1. Thank you for stopping by, sorry it took me so long to reply to this. I hope you've enjoyed your visit, feel free to drop by anytime!

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  17. I collect our cereal boxes as they have so many uses but i'd never thought of this. Yours looks so pretty. I rather like the idea of trying kids ones by getting them to paint some cheap paper first and using this as the wrapping, less professional but very bespoke for Grandparents or friends. A wonderful idea all round and I love your step by step guide on how to make it. Thank you for sharing with me on #Trash2Treasure

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    1. Thank you for stopping by, and have a great week!

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