Using Cardboard Box Graphics to Make Unique Personalised Cards

It's easy to take the graphic design on cardboard boxes for granted, but there's often come great icons and typography on. For this Instructable I've picked out some graphics to make birthday cards. I'm not using the structure of cardboard here, but just the graphics printed on the boxes.

This technique has come in particularly handy during lockdown when it's been harder to buy cards and I've often found myself caught short!

The examples I've shown here are super easy and would be fun for kids to do too. I'm sure you could also get creative and do much more complex things with the technique, and since the materials are basically free why not give it a go!

• Cardboard boxes
• Blank greetings cards
• Cutting mat
• Knife
• Ruler
• Glue

The graphics here all came from one box that had lots on. I was looking for numbers so I could show the date of a birthday, and letters to make initials. I also chose one of the graphic icons for another card.

I suppose you could use the full-thickness cardboard as it is, but I split it down to make it one-layer, more like paper. (It probably ends up about 200 gsm if I had to guess.)

To split the card I just carefully separated the layer with a sharp knife and then gentle pulled it apart by hand. Normally there are inner and outer layers separated by the corrugated layer.

Lastly, to prepare the different bits of card I just made sure they were cut square. (They're easier to cut once they're down to a single layer, so save the detailed cutting until this point.)

Once I had all the graphics I need and knew how they'll be aligned it's simply a question of gluing them in place.

I used blank greetings cards that I already had, but you could make your own, or even stick on top of existing greetings cards.

I made one card with a birthday on it and initials, and another just with a graphic I liked.

Also shown here are some scans of similar cards I made for birthdays years ago.