Easy Gift Box Out of a Water Bottle

This tutorial will teach you how to repurpose a plastic water bottle into a unique gift box or just a cute clear box. It only takes about 10-15 minutes to make one.

• Permanent Marker
• Water bottle with smooth sides (no ridges)
• Scissors
• Olfa Knife/Box Cutter
• Ribbon (optional)

Use the permanent marker to draw two lines to indicate where you will cut the bottle's top and bottom part off.

Cut off the top and bottom of the bottle where you marked the lines

You will be left with this. We'll be using the middle cylinder so you can discard the top and bottom and save them for a different project

Trim the rough edges of the cylinder and make them smooth/even.

So you're left with a non-messy cylinder

Press down firmly with your hands and smooth it out so it's as flat as possible

Use the flat side of the scissors as a folder and press down on the edges as hard as you can. Rub the plastic with the scissors back and forth until the edge is sharp. Repeat this on the other edge as well.

Line up the first two edges you made (the white line in the photo)

... and press down firmly again to flatten. Repeat the same creasing with the scissors on these 2 new edges.

Open up the flattened piece and you'll be left with this square shape instead of the cylinder we started out with.

Use the scissors to cut each corner (all 8 of them) to create flaps. Make each cut the same length, as equal as possible.

Fold down the flaps one by one and make each crease sharp. To close the sides, tuck the last edges under the flap next to it in a pinwheel-like shape to lock it in place.

Once you've tucked both sides in, you'll have a plastic box! You can stop here if you just want a clear box.

After filling it with anything you'd like (candy, beads, small objects, etc.) tie it with a ribbon however you'd like. You can also gift wrap it, put pom poms or bows on it, etc. Decorate it to your liking.

Other ideas:

• Children's building blocks- fill multiple boxes each with a different color paper, or paint the inside of the box different colors.
• Small succulent planter- Cut off all 4 tabs from one of the sides to have an open side. Fill with rocks, soil, plant (real or fake). Place the planter on a small dish
• Organizer- Make multiple boxes and cut all 4 tabs from one side of each to have an open side. Arrange these boxes inside of a larger box to have an organization tray for jewelry or other small things.
• You can do a lot with a small plastic box