Cardboard often ends up recycled, an energy-intensive process.
People regularly throw away or recycle cardboard, however, it's a good material to use for crafts and household projects because it is fairly sturdy and durable to work with. You only need a utility knife and scissors to cut cardboard to size, which makes it particularly useful for making budget furniture if you have no workshop or power tools. If you need an inexpensive bedroom chest, use cardboard to create one that measures 3 feet by 1/2 feet by 1 1/2 feet and has three drawers.
Instructions
Chest Frame
1. Measure an unbent piece of cardboard 5 feet by 1 foot 6 inches. Score these measurements with a utility knife and cut out the piece with strong scissors.
2. Bend the cardboard 1 foot 6 inches from the top and 1 foot 6 inches from the bottom. You can achieve a straight bend by placing a large hardcover book at the spot you'll be bending, then folding the cardboard up against it. This will be the top, back, and bottom of the chest.
3. Measure and cut six pieces of cardboard, each measuring 1 foot 7 inches by 1 foot 2 inches. Cut a 1-inch square on each piece from two corners on a 1-foot-2-inch side. Fold flaps from the three 1-inch juts. You should now have six pieces, each measuring 1 foot 6 inches by 1 inch with flaps on three sides.
4. Hot-glue one of these six pieces to the large frame piece, the flap from a long side attaching to one of the 1 foot 6 inch flaps of the frame, and a flap from the short side attaching to the 3-foot-long main piece of cardboard. Repeat on the opposite side. These are the bottom-most walls of the frame.
5. Measure and cut two squares of cardboard measuring 1 foot 6 inches by 1 foot 6 inches. Hot-glue one square to the top flaps of the bottom walls. This will support a drawer.
6. Glue small-flapped pieces on either side of the frame and top it with the second square. Glue the final two small-flapped pieces to the frame's top flap.
Drawers
7. Measure and cut six pieces of cardboard to 1 foot by 1 foot 7 inches each. Holding the pieces horizontally, cut two 1-inch squares from the bottom two corners of each. You should now have six pieces that each measure 1 foot 5 inches by 11 inches with flaps on both short sides and a flap on one long side. These are the front and back sections of the drawers.
8. Measure and cut six pieces of cardboard measuring 1 foot by 1 foot 5 inches. Score and fold an inch from the edge of one long side on each. These are the side walls of the drawers.
9. Measure and cut three squares of cardboard measuring 1 foot 5 inches by 1 foot 5 inches. These are the drawer bottoms.
10. Hot-glue a 3-flapped rectangular piece to two 1-flapped rectangular pieces, matching up the short sides. Keep the long flaps of each piece facing the same way. Hot-glue a second 3-flapped rectangular piece to the opposite short sides of the 1-flapped rectangular pieces. You should now have a bottomless box.
11. Hot-glue a 1 foot 5 inch square to the remaining flaps.
12. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have two more drawers.
13. Measure and cut three rectangles to 1 inch by 3 inches and three rectangles to 1/2 inch by 2 inches. Glue the three larger rectangles front and center on each drawer. Then, glue the three smaller rectangles centered on the larger ones. These serve as drawer pulls. The cardboard chest is complete.
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