Upcycled Pencil Cases from Cereal and Soda Boxes

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School Supplies!  Our kids need them, schools need them, and local and overseas charities are begging for them.  Did you know that in many countries, children cannot attend school if they don’t have the necessary school supplies?  For the want of a pencil, they could miss weeks of necessary education!  For that reason, I LOVE gathering school supplies and donating filled pencil cases!  But how can I do that with my limited budget?  By using things I found around the house and making Upcycled Pencil Cases from Cereal and Soda Boxes!

They are so easy to make, and the best part?  They are practically FREE!  Check your recycling bin – there must be lots of great cardboard to try:  soda, cereal, snack bars, cookies, pasta, etc.

I found a great template from Craftzine and made almost 100 pencil cases.  BUT when I tried to pack my pencils, they didn’t fit!  The template for the upcycled pencil cases was too short.  UGH!  So frustrating!

I still loved the design – so I decided to enlarge the template!  You can print yours HERE and follow the directions BELOW.

Materials Needed to Make Upcycled Pencil Cases:

• • Scrap Cardboard
  • TEMPLATE for the Upcycled Pencil Cases
  • Pencil, or thin marker
  • Scissors
  • Ruler
  • Clear Tape or Hot Glue (Like this one from Amazon)
  • Velcro fastener (Like these from Amazon)
  • Scoring tool (just one example from Amazon)

Print and cut out template.  Trace the design.  Move the template around until you find the nicest design for the front.  If the box or writing isn’t attractive, I use the plain cardboard as the outside instead (then added stickers or drew designs).

Time to score (this is a VERY important step as it makes it extremely easy to fold the cardboard).  You can use an edge from a paperclip, a ballpoint pen, etc.  This one from Amazon has 2 different thickness points.

The directions say to tape the boxes closed, I prefer to use hot glue.  I don’t think it matters, I just felt the hot glue would last longer.

To keep the top lid closed, attach velcro on the top flap and front of the case.   A local dollar store had the least expensive. (I cut small squares from the lengths and attached those.  It was cheaper than purchasing “velcro dots”.) It didn’t look very professional, but it did the job.  I do think the circle ones look even nicer, but they both work!   If the sticky back doesn’t seem strong enough, you could always hot glue those as well.

Amazon has these in a pack of 300:

I hope you have fun making these upcycled pencil cases!

This would be a great craft to make with scouts, Sunday schools, Vacation Bible School, or even senior craft groups.  Each person could take part in the process and pass it on to the next person to complete.  Start saving your cardboard – even ask at church or put an announcement in the church bulletin!

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I love finding great deals and crafts to save on our family budget - AND have plenty to share. Join me in finding JOY through the PURPOSE of helping others, and have lots of fun along the way!