DIY Tutorial- $1 Diaper Box Upcycle

I have seen a lot of tutorials on making diaper boxes into fabric covered lovelies. However, I don't have the money for fabric. If I did, I'd just buy the stinkin' things at Target and call it a day. SO, what to do with a bunch of empty diaper boxes lying around? Here's a quick and easy AND CHEAP tutorial on how to up cycle them into custom storage boxes:

Supplies: 1 diaper box

1 roll of shelf paper (I got mine at the Dollar Tree and it was more than enough for one box)

Scissors

Box cutter

Use the box cutter to take off the flaps at the top of the box. Using the scissors, cut the paper to fit the 2 shortest sides of your box with a little extra for wrapping around the edge- about 1-2" extra. For my Huggies box, the length was 11" total. I just cut across the whole roll like I cutting wrapping paper and didn't trim it anymore than that. This will be a piece that you wrap from the top to the bottom of your box. Peel the backing off the paper and stick your box right on it with a 2-3" allowance on top. Cut out all 4 corners as shown above so that you don't have to fold.Stick it to the box, wrapping the excess into the box, around the corners, and under the bottom. It's pretty forgiving stuff, but try to stick it down flat the first time. Trying to push out wrinkles doesn't work too well though, so just lift and restick if needed.

Do this to the other side as well. Now both "handle ends" are covered. Don't worry about getting the edges perfect, they will be covered by the next two pieces. You will cut the handle section out last. Next, cut pieces to go over the longer sides. These need to be exactly the length of your box so that there is no side wrapping. For my Huggies box, I cut 13". Again, just cut across the roll like you're cutting wrapping paper and use the piece as-is. No need to cut out the corners this time, just start inside the box and wrap out, down, and around.

Use a box cutter to cut out the handle holes if desired. Voila! For just $1, you've made a cutie-pie storage box. The Dollar Tree often has a lot of different patterns of shelf paper that would be great for this project- toile, faux wood grain, checks, etc. Be warned, though, a light colored paper will allow the print on the box to show through. For me, this is ok since these will be used in my craft closet, but if you wish to go this light and don't want anyone to see the diaper label, just cover it in a solid paper first.

Happy Crafting!