Recycle Medicine Cartons into Stationery Holders

What do you do with medicine cartons lying at your homes? Throw them away or reuse and recycle them? Cartons, like these used to package medicine, toothpastes, shaving creams, gels, shampoos, etc. are more often thrown away since many of us don't know how to make use of them. Earlier I have posted a tutorial on recycling a shaving cream carton into a stationery holder and decorating it with origami. You can view the tutorial on that previous post by clicking on this link here.

Recycling cartons into stationery holders

Here's, another easy tutorial which even kids can try at home or schools, and play their roles in recycling paper. Just be sure that they are clean and safe to be used for craft purpose. We would rather throw away those cartons which still retain odor of medicines or food stuff.

Below are some medicine cartons that were used for this tutorial. The size of these containers is about 6.5cm x 5cm with a height of @14cm. They can be conveniently used to hold stationeries like pencils, scales, scissors, sketch pens, etc.

Medicine Cartons for recycling purpose

Materials required: Medicine carton, glue, scissor, paper for wrapping, sketch pens or color pencils for decoration.

Material used: Paper, carton, glue, scissor

Procedure:
Firstly, remove the top flaps of the carton using a scissor as shown below.

Remove the top flaps of the empty container/carton

Now take any paper for wrapping around the carton. You can use a gift wrapping paper, or any other decorative paper to give it a more appealing look. Here, we have used a white A4 sized printer paper. which suits the size of this medicine carton. Cut along the edges as shown.

A4 size printer paper for wrapping the medicine carton

Apply glue as you keep wrapping it around the box.

Wrapping the medicine carton with paper.

Note the steps for sealing or covering the bottom side of the box. Apply glue, and overlap one flap over the other till all the flaps cover the bottom side of the carton.

Seal the bottom of the medicine carton

Once all the flaps are glued, the bottom side is neatly sealed and covered as shown in the picture below.

Bottom side of the carton is neatly covered

For the open side on the top, apply glue to the flaps and keep gluing them to the inner edges of the carton as shown below.

The top open side of the carton

Apply glue to the flaps,
fold them down to cover the inner edges

This is how it would look after they are neatly covered with a clean sheet. You can decorate them further with sketch pens or color pencils as you wish. 

Stationery Holder ready to use

In case you have many such cartons, you can simply join them by using a clear tape, and then cover them up with gift wrapping paper of your choice.

Join two or more cartons with a tape

Stationery holders from medicine cartons

You can recycle such cartons into beautiful stationery holders that can be incorporated into the kids' rooms or art & craft rooms. Once, you have covered these cartons with a plain sheet, ask your kids to paint or decorate these cartons, and you will see that they will gleefully oblige. 

Hope you like this tutorial. Keep visiting our blog for more such ideas.

Here's a quick link to the same tutorial on our youtube channel.

Thank you for stopping by.

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Learn to make an Origami Diya: Easy Craft Idea for Kids

With Navratri and Durga Puja just round the corner, a bunch of festivals is lined up, one after the other; this is the time of the year we all Indians eagerly wait for the whole year, to celebrate and enjoy with our families and friends. 

It is customary in every Indian home to light up the diyas during this festive season. Even in this era of advanced technology where it has become easier to decorate your house with electric lights, which will only remove darkness, the spiritual significance of lighting a traditional diya still hasn't lost its importance. As parents, it is our concern to involve our kids during this festivities and keep their interest alive in our traditions. So here's an easy craft idea for kids for this festive season which they can learn with joy; learning to make a paper diya - an origami diya for this festive occasion.

Origami Diyas

Procedure:

This origami diya is very easy for kids to try and doesn't involve any complicated folds. So just follow the procedure closely and enjoy folding an origami Diya this season.

Materials required:

All you need is square colored sheets and some sequins or colors for decoration. Here, in this tutorial we have used a simple gift wrapping paper with one side colored.

Step 1:

Start by keeping the white side of the paper facing you. Make a vertical diagonal crease by folding the paper into half and then unfold it.

Step 1: Make a vertical diagonal crease

Step 2:
Fold in the two corners to touch the central crease and you will get a kite base.

Step 2: Fold in the two corners to get a kite base

Step 3:
Turn it over. Note the crease for the next fold.

Step 3: Turn over. Note the crease for next fold.

Step 4:
Fold in the bottom part up to get a crease and then unfold it.

Fold the bottom part to get a crease and unfold.

Step 5:

Now fold the bottom tip to touch the midpoint of the crease.

Fold the bottom tip to touch the crease 

Step 6:
Fold in the bottom part again to touch the crease.

Step 6: Fold in the bottom part to touch the same crease.

Step 7:
Fold the bottom part again, this time along the crease.

Step 7: Fold the bottom part along the crease.

Step 8:
Turn it over

Turn it over

Step 9:
Now fold in the bottom part upwards and you can see the wick behind.

Step 9: Fold in the bottom part upwards
to make the wick visible from behind.

Step 10:
Turn it over.

Step 10: Turn it over

Step 11:
Note the creases on the top side for the next fold. Now fold in the both the top corners to touch the triangular edges.

Step 11: Note the crease for the next fold

This is how it will look after folding in both the top corners.

Step 11 (contd.): Fold in the top corners to
touch the edges of the triangle

Step 12:
Fold in the bottom edge.

Step 12: Fold in the bottom edge

 This is how it would look after folding up the bottom edge.

Step 12 (contd.): This is how it looks after folding the bottom

Done:
Just flip over the model and the origami diya is ready.

Done: Turn it over and done

Make more such origami diyas and decorate them with sequins, glitter or just color them with sketch pens and the diyas are ready.

Origami Diyas are ready 

Decorate the origami diyas

Suggestion for use:

You can make these diyas just for fun or you can even use them to make greeting cards and gift them to your friends.

You can a watch a quick video tutorial below.

Do try making this origami Diya and just have fun.

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