Cardboard Wall, Door Trim and Baseboard

I have made a lot of fun and crazy things out of cardboard over the years. I love to make things with cardboard. It is such a versatile medium. Some of my projects have included a fancy gift box made into a dollhouse shape, a nutcracker shaped gift box that was the size of a small child, silly cardboard frames and even a giant-sized piece of wall art. So why not finish a wall with cardboard?

• Corrugated Cardboard
• Cereal Boxes, Cracker Boxes, etc
• Toilet paper tubes, Paper towel tubes
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Book Paper
• Brown Packing Paper
• Mod Podge
• Elmers Glue
• Hot Glue
• Paint Brushes
• Roofing Nails
• 4 Ply Jute Twine

To start this project I collected a lot of large corrugated cardboard boxes and started saving all the brown packing paper from packages we received. I had an unfinished wall in one of our room so I thought I would give the cardboard a try.

I wanted some craft storage space so I designed some shelves and spaces to hold tin cans for my pencils and pens etc. I had three wall studs to attach the cardboard to so I cut and fit the pieces using thumbtacks to "dry" fit the pieces to the wall.

Once all the pieces were cut each one was covered with book paper and mod podge before being nailed permanently to the wall.

I used roofing nails to attach the pieces to the wall.

Once all the pieces were in place I used more book paper and mod podge to cover the nail heads and the seams in the cardboard pieces.

All the details for the cardboard wall are in the video below.

Following are the measurements for cutting (only the widths are noted as the length is assembled as desired)

Baseboard

• Cut cereal box 1/2" from corner fold on one side of the fold and 3 1/4" from the fold on the other side
• Cut corrugated cardboard to 3 1/4"
• Cut corrugated cardboard to 1/2"
• Cut paper tubes lengthwise into 3/4" strips

Door Trim

• Cut cereal box 1/2" from corner fold on one side of the fold and 2 1/2" from the fold on the other side
• Cut corrugated cardboard to 2 1/2"
• Cut corrugated cardboard to 1/2"
• Cut paper tubes lengthwise into 3/4" strips

The assembly is the same for both the baseboard and trim. For this description, I will use the measurements for the baseboard.

To assemble I used hot glue and white glue to hold the pieces together.

Starting with the 3 1/4" corrugated cardboard and use glue to attach the cereal box 3 1/4" piece. Layer 3 pieces of the 1/2" corrugated cardboard strips and glue in the corner fold of the cereal box. (This is the bottom of the baseboard) Glue 1 layer of 1/2" cardboard to the other edge of the cardboard to make the top. Use the hot glue to attach the paper tube pieces to the bottom edge and finished with hot glue and the twine along both ends.

To finish the baseboard I used the packing paper and mod podge.

Once the baseboard and trim are finished they can be cut just like actual wood pieces.

To install the trim I used more roofing nails and then finished the trim with more packing paper and mod podge to cover the nail heads and seams.

You can find more details on how to make the trim in the video below.

Thanks for taking a look at my project. If you would like more upcycling inspiration please visit the Upcycle Design Lab

Happy Upcycling,

Cindy