earth day recycled craft: cereal box notebooks

I LOVE that my kids are really getting into recycling. It’s so funny to hear them remind us when throwing away trash, “Hey, that’s not trash. It goes in the blue can for recycling.” With Earth Day coming up on April 22 and the weather having been so nice lately, we have been spending a lot of time outside playing and talking about taking care of our Earth. We learned what it means to recycle and how we can recycle things in our own home. I found this cute craft on Pinterest and the girls and I set out to make a set for their friends at school.

We decided to make cereal box notebooks. You can use any box you have (crackers, spaghetti, cereal, sodas, etc). They are so fun and easy to make and would make a great addition to a birthday party favor bag. Head out to your recycling bin and we will get started.

Supplies:

• Cereal Boxes or other card board boxes
• Modge Podge (you can buy this at Michaels)
• Scissors or paper cutter
• Paintbrush
• Large binder clips or I used a chip clip
• 2 rulers or paint stir sticks
• Paper

First of all, decide what size you want your note book to be based on your paper size. You can use 3×5 index cards, scrap paper, notebook paper, anything you have. We used 3×5 index cards for our project. Using scissors or a paper cutter, cut your paper to the exact size you want it.

Look through your boxes and choose which one you want to use for your front and back cover. You will need two pieces. Cut your box to the same size as your paper.

Sandwich the paper in between the two pieces of card board you just cut. Make sure everything is lined up evenly. Place the ruler or paint stir stick on the front and back of the notebook and secure with the binder clips. This will hold the book in place while you secure it with glue.

Slide one of the binder clips to the side and paint one edge with Modge Podge. You can use whichever side you want your notebook to open on. Put a medium thick coat on it. The paste will dry clear so you won’t see it. Then slide the binder clip back in place to hold the notebook together while it dries. It dries pretty quickly. I repeated this step three times for each notebook.

When they are dry, remove the clips and enjoy! Put them in a clear cello bag with a cute tag and you have an instant gift. Throw one in your purse to write your grocery list on or for the kids to doodle on while eating out.

Happy Earth Day!

Author Description

laura

Laura Beynon is a former pediatric RN, now wife and stay at home mommy to three very girly little girls. When she isn't playing princess, you can find her at her laptop, planning parties and designing custom invitations and party décor for her newly launched company, Cupcakes and Lemonade. Night owl, thank you Pinterest. Loves, little details, cupcakes, a really good glass of wine and that not-often-enough date night with her hubby.