These paper circles are all you need to make a decorative shipping box for those gifts you need to send to out of town relatives and friends.  My family recently missed the birthday party of a very special little boy.  And I wanted to send him something more than just a gift.  I wanted him  to smile and be just as jazzed about the box as the stuff in it.  And so I made a decorative shipping box.

Luckily, I had an empty box in the garage.  I made sure that all of the stuff I wanted to send fit in to it before I set out decorating it.  I usually do that backwards where I will get something all decorated and then find that things won’t fit.  It is a bummer.  I’m super glad I remembered that step this time.  This is a bit time consuming, but you could totally have your manual labor, I mean kids, help with this.

To make your decorative shipping box, first grab colored paper and Glue Dots and line the inside of it.  Could I have done this neater?  Yes.  But I’m lazy.

Next punch out some paper in whatever shape you want to use.  My circle punch is the easiest and quickest punch I have plus I wanted to make a scalloped look on the box flaps.  My son had a Phineas and Ferb magazine he was done reading so I decided to add in some of those images too to make this box super kid friendly.

Now just start securing the punched paper to the box in whatever pattern you want.  A Glue Dot on the back of each dot worked great and held really well on the cardboard.  When I ran out and had to use an inferior glue product, those dots started falling off.  Boo.  If you have any overhang simply trim it with scissors.

Add the paper dots all the way around the box on each flap until it is all covered.

Gather all the items you want to send and if you feel like it, add some notes to them for a more personal touch.

And there you have it.  Oh and I felt like because you spent all that time decorating the box you don’t have to wrap each gift individually.  But again, I’m lazy so if you want to wrap them all, do it.

Here is another example of a box I did that I sent to a relative for her baby shower.  The paper on the flaps looks blue but was a really neat shade of purple.  I would love to get a box like this in the mail.  I mean, totally fun right?  And don’t forget to see this box that I sent to Jenny a while ago.