Breathe new life into that old cardboard box by learning from contributors located around the world that come together in The Art of Cardboard(Rockport Publishers, 2015), by Lori Zimmer. Although paper and cardboard seem to be common materials, discover the unexpectedly beautiful, intricate art that can be created using repurposed and upcycled resources.

This design lets you recycle an old album cover or corrugated cardboard painted however you please into an easy but awesome piece for storing art supplies, flowers, or knick-knacks. 

Materials

• Corrugated cardboard or old cardboard
• Record cover with cool artwork
• Utility Knife
• Metal ruler
• Pencil
• Bookbinding PVA or standard craft glue
• One screw

1. Cut a triangle template. For this Geometric Wall Storage, we’re making a pyramid shape. Cut a 6-inch (15.2 cm) triangle equal on all sides from a scrap piece of corrugated cardboard using the metal ruler and pencil to draft out the measurements properly. Using the metal ruler and utility knife, cut the triangle out.

2. Place your corrugated cardboard triangle template over the record cover and use your pencil to sketch out three triangles, leaving at least a 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) on the bottom for a fold-in tab. The first triangle should be upright, the second should be flush with the first inverted, and the third flush with the second upright. Add the fold-in tab to the bottom of the third triangle, measuring 1/2 an inch (1.3 cm) from the base line of the triangle. Clean up your lines with the metal ruler and pencil.

3. Cut out, scoring your edges, and glue the fold-in tab. Using the metal ruler and utility knife, cut the three triangles and the fold-in tab from the rest of the record cover, leaving them intact. Then use the same tools to line up and gently score the remaining pencil lines on the intact piece, making sure not to cut all the way through. After they are scored, fold triangles one and three downward and put a small amount of glue on the fold-in tab, attaching it to the inside of the bottom of the first triangle. Apply pressure to the glued seam till dry.

4. Screw it on the wall. With the single screw, drill it on your wall through the inside middle of the second triangle and load it up!

More from The Art of Cardboard:

• DIY Stenciled Wrapping Paper

Based in Jersey City, New Jersey, Hawaiian-born Kuali’I cut his teeth working with mentor Doze Green. Inspired by the curvature of Green’s graffiti style and Hawaiian culture, Kuali’i has created a body of work of cut paper works in both large-scale installations and on canvas. In 2014, he was an artist in residence at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, where he took his cut paper to its largest scale yet.

Reprinted with permission fromThe Art of Cardboard:Big Ideas for Creative Collaboration, Storytelling, and Reuse, by Lori Zimmer and published by Rockport Publishers, 2015.