Making Valentine Boxes

I’ve put together a collection of the Valentine Boxes we’ve made over the years to inspire you to make your own creative Valentine Box — even boxes boys will love. Plus, these are “GREEN” valentines boxes; all made from recycled materials.  Warning: These will not involve shoe-boxes and stickers. We’re thinking a bit outside the box, no pun intended.

To see instructions for any of the following Valentine boxes, just click on the link/picture to be directed to the correct post:

The Batmobile Valentine Box…

The Toolbox Valentine Box

Guitar Valentine Box

The Shinny Rocket Valentine Box

In this post, we’ll show you how to make the following Valentine Boxes:

Somewhere, as a child, my I got this crazy idea from my parents that Valentine Boxes have to BE something. My first valentine box, in first grade, was a doll, dressed in a full-length red crepe paper tissue dress. The loop of her gown was where the valentines were hidden. Throughout the room, there were covered wagons made from oatmeal boxes, cowboy hats, race cars, and flowers. There were absolutely no shoe-boxes decorated with heart stickers.  Naturally, I wanted to continue the same tradition for my sons when their classes started Valentine Parties.

Our first one was this basketball hoop valentine box.

We cut a cereal box so that just two inches of the bottom were left, as a tray, and kept the back of the box as support for a Nerf basketball hoop. A can of red spray paint and some stickers, and friends shot their valentines in the box.

Next, I got a little more creative and found that a simple $8 investment in  a dozen bagels from Panera will net you this extra special box.

This box is a gem. Our first valentine box from this was a robot.

complete with metallic gray spray paint, bolts and screws for eyes and noses and metal mesh as a heart. We even used wire to spell out his name.

Here’s a girl version of the Panera Bread Valentine Box, crafted by my gifted friend:

For this toolbox valentine box, click here:

The possibilities are endless. You could use the face to make a beauty queen, or the perfect Frankenstein.
I learned the hard way that is best to prime your box first.

For the guitar valentine box, click here.

 

If you don’t the words bleed through your final product.
I will pass on a very time-saving, valuable lesson I’ve learned here: Let your kids have creative license over the design.
This is tough work!

This is very TOUGH work!

Let them learn to appreciate, and love their own mistakes.
Next, set a rule. You can only use found objects in the house for embellishments.

Try, very hard, not to interject with stupid statements like I make: “Nobody has white eyes. Why don’t you use these white buttons, and glue smaller blue buttons on top to that it looks like a real eye.” Children really don’t want you to be logical. White buttons with black paint over the top it is.

Then, you will have a complete Batman

Yeah, I think it looks more like BatDog too, but I thought it best not to bring this up.
The same box makes a great Buzz Lightyear

.

For the kid who has outgrown cutsey, you can always make the I-Pod valentine box. This is made from a rectangular piece of Styrofoam wrapped in foil. With marker to identify the controls and fav song.

A pocket in the back made from a recycled aluminum casserole pan serves as the holder for the valentines.

With a recycled box, some spray paint and some junk… the possibilities are… endless.