Decorative Box Using USPS Flat Rate Boxes

Welcome everyone to BOT10ART Instructables! Today I will show you the step by step process of making a decorative storage box using USPS flat rate boxes.

Materials List

USPS Flat Rate Box
Contact Paper
Xacto Knife
Clear Packing Tape or Glue Gun
Velcro ( Optional )

Step 1: USPS Flat Rate Box

Head on down to your local Post Office and look for the kiosk that holds the flat rate boxes.

Please be mindful that these boxes are designed to ship items and it is not wise to abuse their generosity!

So please do not " raid " your local postal office and take every box they have available, leaving someone that needs the box without one.

For the purpose of this tutorial I used one of the boxes I normally use to ship out artwork and toys that I sell so I have these boxes at home.

Step 2: Contact Paper

I was shopping at my local Dollar Store and found contact paper for a dollar! I then thought it would be a great idea to create the box using these materials.

If contact paper is not your thing, these boxes can be covered with wrapping paper and spray adhesive or sticker paper, the sky is the limit! My kids like to use acrylic paint to decorate their boxes and make piggy banks out of them.

Start by rolling out the paper and weighing it down with small pieces of tape on each corner.
Place the box on top of the contact paper and mark the line where the box will be covered by the paper.
Cut along the line you marked and store the remaining contact paper.

Step 3: Adhering the Box

Once you have your piece of contact paper cut from the roll, do the following.

Peel the protective cover that reveals the sticky side of the paper and place it on a flat surface design side down.
Use the small pieces of tape you used to weigh down the paper to keep the paper from rolling back up.
Place the box on the contact paper with the outside of the box facing down.
Follow the edges of the box with the Xacto Knife to remove any access contact paper.

Step 4: Smooth It Out

At this point you can flip the box over and smooth out any bubbles or creases the paper may have from the previous step.

I like to take this time to mark the location of a slot if I am making a piggy bank, or add a personalized message on the surface of the box.

Step 5: Assembly

With all your decorative process out of the way you can now begin to assemble the box.

You can tape the edges of the box with clear packing tape or use a hot glue gun to adhere the sides of the box to keep it from opening up again.

These boxes are designed to be assembled and sealed so do not remove the sticky label on the flap. I use a small piece of Velcro to act as a latching mechanism.

Step 6: All Done!

And there you have it a newly decorated USPS box ready to be used for storage of any item!

We have used these boxes for storing art supplies for the little ones like crayons and drawing paper that is perfect as a travel " art studio ". My children have made piggy banks, and I have used them to store items for when I do conventions.

Let me know if you have any other use for these boxes and would like to share your ideas with me.

Here I have included my livestream video where I demonstrate other uses for the boxes and other items to make with them.