39 Cardboard Crafts DIY Ideas for 2025

In a world where sustainability meets creativity, cardboard has emerged as a favorite material for crafting enthusiasts.

Its affordability, ease of use, and versatility make it an ideal choice for a wide range of projects. Whether you’re a seasoned DIYer or a beginner looking for a new hobby, cardboard offers endless possibilities to express your artistic side.

Our article, “39 Cardboard Crafts DIY,” is a treasure trove of innovative ideas that transform simple cardboard into masterpieces.

From playful children’s toys to elegant home décor pieces, these projects will inspire creativity while promoting eco-friendly practices.

Dive into this collection and discover how cardboard can turn imagination into reality.

Explore the Art of Cardboard Crafting

Discover a world of creativity where cardboard takes center stage. This section explores the diverse and imaginative projects that can be crafted from everyday cardboard, providing inspiration for artists of all ages and skill levels.

1. Heart-Shaped Cardboard Organizer

Craft a Heart-Shaped Cardboard Organizer to infuse charm and order into any room. Made from robust cardboard, this organizer features heart-shaped outlines with compartments created by cardboard dividers. It’s ideal for storing jewelry, craft supplies, or small trinkets, while recycling materials and enhancing your decor.

To make it personal, add colored hearts or decorations matching your style. This organizer is a perfect blend of functionality and aesthetic appeal, making it a must-have for your home.

2. Cotton Candy Craft with Cardboard Cone

Embrace whimsy with the Cotton Candy Craft with Cardboard Cone. Start by cutting a cone shape from cardboard and topping it with soft pink cotton balls to mimic the fluffy look of cotton candy. Sweet heart-shaped stickers complete this delightful creation.

Perfect for kids’ activities or party decor, this craft adds playful sweetness to any setting. Customize the cotton and heart colors to fit various themes, offering a unique and personalized touch to your home.

3. Picasso-Inspired Cardboard Faces

Express your creativity with Picasso-Inspired Cardboard Faces. Cut geometric and abstract shapes from cardboard to craft expressive facial features like eyes, noses, and lips. Arrange and glue them onto a base to form vibrant, quirky characters.

This project is fueled by bold, bright colors and encourages non-traditional design. Perfect for wall art, education, or exploring modern art styles, it offers endless artistic possibilities.

4. Cardboard Sea Creature Art

Turn recycled cardboard into a captivating underwater artwork with Cardboard Sea Creature Art. Craft jellyfish and fish using cut-out shapes, layered with newspaper, and enhanced with paint and glitter for a shimmering ocean effect. Large googly eyes add a fun touch.

This eco-friendly project is excellent for teaching kids about sea life while fostering creativity. Create a full underwater scene, perfect for a child’s room or classroom, making learning engaging and visually exciting.

5. Abstract Cardboard Face Portrait

Explore creativity with an Abstract Cardboard Face Portrait. Start by cutting a circular cardboard base for the face, adding features like eyes, nose, and mouth from various cardboard shapes. Each is painted in vibrant, playful colors.

The large, cartoon-like eyes and golden-hued cardboard strips for hair create a whimsical look. This project is perfect for children’s art activities, enhancing creativity while teaching about facial features. Use it as a unique wall art piece or an educational tool.

6. Colorful Cardboard Hedgehogs

Craft charming Colorful Cardboard Hedgehogs by cutting a hedgehog shape from cardboard. Decorate the quills with colorful triangular paper cutouts, layered to form a spiky texture.

Add googly eyes and small paper circles for the nose and cheeks to animate your hedgehog. This fun project promotes recycling while offering an educational insight into nature. It’s a creative, hands-on way for kids to explore craft-making.

7. Cardboard Fire Station City Scene

Construct a miniature city with a Cardboard Fire Station City Scene. Use cardboard boxes to make a fire station and other buildings, adding details for realism.

Incorporate wooden toy figures and vehicles, with props like felt and wood trees. Perfect for kids who love imaginative play, this project offers hours of fun while fostering spatial awareness and creativity in designing their own cityscape.

8. Glittery Cardboard Bunny Decorations

Create festive Glittery Cardboard Bunny Decorations by cutting bunny shapes from cardboard. Personalize with glitter, dried flowers, sequins, and colored paper.

The simple shape encourages creative expression, ideal for Easter or springtime activities. Suitable for all ages, this craft uses common household materials to produce charming, handmade decorations for walls, doors, or table centerpieces, adding a delightful touch to any setting.

9. Earth-Themed Cardboard Sensory Craft

Engage children with an Earth-Themed Cardboard Sensory Craft that combines learning and fun. Begin with a cardboard base, shaping the Earth using colored rice and small beads to depict land and water. Enhance the scene with wooden or felt pieces to represent trees and animals.

This interactive craft is ideal for teaching kids about the planet and environmental awareness. It’s perfect for Earth Day or nature-focused classroom projects, promoting sustainability while enhancing sensory exploration.

10. Cardboard Lion Toy

Delight in creating a Cardboard Lion Toy that’s both adorable and vibrant. Form the body with a cylindrical cardboard section, attaching separate pieces for the head, legs, and tail to construct a 3D figure.

Paint it in cheerful colors, encouraging creativity and fine motor skills. This project is not only a fun assembly activity for kids but also a decorative addition to a child’s room. It emphasizes imaginative play and personal design.

11. Grass-Haired Cardboard Faces

Bring imagination to life with Grass-Haired Cardboard Faces. Draw facial expressions on rectangular cardboard pieces, then attach real or fake grass and flowers as hair.

This craft allows kids to explore nature-inspired styles, blending creativity with gardening. Perfect for school projects or home decor, it encourages personal expression and a playful approach to crafting.

12. Romantic Cardboard Pen Holder

Craft a charming Romantic Cardboard Pen Holder with a heart-shaped design. Constructed from corrugated cardboard, it’s detailed with beads, flowers, and a small bird embellishment.

This project serves both practical and decorative purposes, ideal for organizing desk essentials. As a handmade gift, it merges functionality with a personal, heartfelt touch—perfect for a home office or as a Valentine’s Day surprise.

13. Cardboard Garden Sorting Game

Engage kids with a Cardboard Garden Sorting Game, using cardboard pieces to create miniature vegetables like carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. Each vegetable is carefully drawn and colored on cardboard cutouts and placed into a cardboard garden bed.

Children can match these veggies to a reference sheet, combining learning with play. This craft is perfect for teaching about gardening, vegetables, and counting. Enhance the scene with pom-pom flowers for added color and excitement, making it a delightful and educational activity for children.

14. Halloween Cardboard Haunted Village

Craft a spooky Halloween Cardboard Haunted Village by cutting out various house shapes from cardboard and painting them in eerie orange, black, and pink hues. Decorate with spooky ghosts, spiderwebs, and pumpkins, finishing with faux spider webs for added eeriness.

This project is ideal for Halloween decor and can be personalized to match your style. Use the haunted village as a striking table centerpiece or as part of a larger Halloween display, offering a creative and festive flair to your home.

15. Cardboard Box City with Stick Ladders

Create a bustling Cardboard Box City using cardboard boxes and simple materials like popsicle sticks and colored paper. Each box transforms into a building with drawn windows and doors, while popsicle stick ladders add a dynamic touch.

This DIY encourages creativity and imaginative play, allowing children to design and build their cityscape. It promotes recycling and provides a wonderful opportunity for family bonding, as you construct a unique and vibrant mini city together.

16. Cute Cardboard Fruit Magnets

Design adorable Cute Cardboard Fruit Magnets by drawing fruits such as bananas and watermelons on cardboard cutouts. Paint each fruit with bright colors and attach googly eyes to give them a playful personality.

Finish by adding a magnetic backing to easily stick them to any surface. These cheerful magnets are both functional and decorative, bringing joyful vibes to any kitchen or workspace. Perfect for craft enthusiasts of all ages, they add a splash of fun and creativity to everyday spaces.

17. Googly-Eyed Rainbow Craft

Create a delightful Googly-Eyed Rainbow Craft using cardboard as the base. Paint bright, cheerful arcs to form a rainbow and add googly eyes with a simple smile to give it a friendly face. Enhance the charm with cotton balls as fluffy clouds at the base.

This craft is ideal for young children, promoting creativity and fine motor skills. It’s perfect for classrooms or home projects, serving as a playful decoration that spreads positivity and joy in any room.

18. Winter Wonderland Cardboard Scene

Transform basic materials into a Winter Wonderland Cardboard Scene by cutting out a house, trees, and mountains from cardboard. Paint them in festive colors, adding buttons as sky decorations.

String lights with button accents add a magical touch. This DIY is great for holiday decor or as a creative project for kids, allowing them to craft their own charming winter wonderland. The snowy details bring the scene to life, making it a beautiful addition to festive displays.

19. Nature-Inspired Leaf Face Craft

Dive into nature with a Nature-Inspired Leaf Face Craft. Use a cardboard base to arrange leaves as hair and twigs for facial features, adding other natural materials for accents like a bowtie.

This eco-friendly craft encourages exploration and creativity with found items, perfect for autumn crafting. It teaches children about textures and shapes in nature, resulting in a unique face full of personality and expression.

20. Cardboard Bunnies

Create charming Cardboard Bunnies by cutting out shapes from cardboard and painting them in minimalist black, white, and brown patterns. Each bunny stands upright with a slotted cardboard base.

This craft is ideal for Easter decorations or a fun animal-themed project for kids. They can be personalized with different colors and details, making it versatile and easy-to-make. The simple structure allows for creating an entire bunny family for a playful display.

21. Rainbow Paper Fringe Christmas Tree

Craft a vibrant Rainbow Paper Fringe Christmas Tree using a sturdy cardboard base. Decorate it with layers of fringed paper in rainbow hues to create a festive and playful appearance. Top the tree with a small star for a perfect finishing touch. This simple project is ideal for kids, offering a delightful way to create personalized holiday decorations.

The combination of bright colors and varied textures makes this tree an eye-catching piece for any holiday display, adding cheer and creativity to your seasonal decor.

22. Birds on a Branch Cardboard Art

Design delightful Birds on a Branch Cardboard Art featuring two birds perched on a branch, sheltered by colorful umbrellas. Cut from cardboard, embellish these figures with vibrant paints and felt accents. Add flowers for a springtime feel, making this craft a cheerful and engaging project for kids.

It helps develop creativity and motor skills while offering a fun way to teach children about nature and seasonal changes, resulting in a charming decorative piece.

23. Cardboard Quilled Floral Art

Create elegant Cardboard Quilled Floral Art using rolled strips of cardboard to craft delicate flowers and leaves. Each piece is quilled and attached to a cardboard backing, producing a striking 3D effect. This craft is perfect for minimalists who appreciate clean and simple designs.

The soothing process of quilling results in stunning wall art, adding an earthy, eco-friendly touch to any space, making it both a relaxing and rewarding project.

24. Cardboard Skyscraper City

Construct a dynamic Cardboard Skyscraper City from recycled cardboard, featuring tall skyscrapers and smaller homes. Paint them with colorful designs to create a lively cityscape. This craft is perfect for children who love building and imaginative play.

Kids can personalize their city and engage with it using toy cars or figures, making the project interactive and exciting. The vibrant colors and urban setup offer a fun, creative experience, encouraging playful exploration.

25. Cardboard Bear with Egg Carton Nose

Craft an adorable Cardboard Bear using cardboard and an egg carton for the nose, giving it a charming 3D effect. Cut out the bear’s body, paws, and ears from cardboard and paint them with simple details like paw prints and a smiling face. This project is perfect for kids, fostering creativity with recycled materials.

Customize your bear with different expressions and colors, making it a delightful addition to children’s rooms. This engaging craft not only entertains but also educates on recycling and artistic expression.

26. Wrapped Cardboard Doll

Create a delightful Wrapped Cardboard Doll by cutting a human-shaped figure from cardboard and wrapping it with fabric, yarn, or paper. Layer these materials to add texture and depth, while googly eyes and a small heart decoration bring the doll to life.

This project encourages children to explore their creativity, allowing them to choose unique materials for their doll. It’s a fun and simple craft that also enhances motor skills as kids wrap and layer different materials.

27. Button Art on Cardboard

Design captivating Button Art on a cardboard canvas using a variety of colorful buttons to create images like birds or flower bouquets. Glue the buttons onto the cardboard to form desired shapes, offering a unique artistic experience.

This craft is an excellent way to repurpose spare buttons while creating vibrant artwork. It’s perfect for kids, teaching them to handle small objects and improve hand-eye coordination. The result is a charming piece of art that adds a splash of color to any room.

28. Cardboard Accordion Folded “Aloha” Card

Craft a cheerful Cardboard Accordion Folded “Aloha” Card with a sturdy cardboard base. Each panel spells “Aloha” with colorful letters and tropical flowers cut from colored paper. This project is perfect for creating personalized cards for various occasions.

Kids can learn about tropical themes while developing card-making skills. The accordion fold adds a unique twist, making this card a memorable gift for birthdays or special celebrations.

29. Cardboard Mosaic Rainbows and Hearts

Create vibrant Cardboard Mosaic Rainbows and Hearts by cutting out cardboard shapes of hearts and rainbows. Use small, colorful pieces of paper to fill in these shapes, forming beautiful mosaic patterns. This craft enhances children’s creativity and fine motor skills.

Perfect for classrooms, rainy-day projects, or as decorative items for holidays like Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day, this activity is both educational and fun. Kids will enjoy the hands-on experience of crafting unique designs.

30. Fringe Skirt Dancer Silhouette

Craft an elegant Fringe Skirt Dancer Silhouette using a cardboard silhouette of a dancer paired with colorful fringed paper. Cut the dancer’s body from black cardboard, and layer strips of paper to create a flowing skirt.

This project allows artistic expression while highlighting the beauty of movement and design. Ideal for young dancers or fashion craft enthusiasts, it brings creativity to life with its dynamic and colorful presentation.

31. Floral Pressed Bird Art on Cardboard

Combine nature and art with Floral Pressed Bird Art on Cardboard. Draw bird silhouettes on cardboard and fill them with real dried flowers and leaves. This creates an earthy and organic look, perfect for nature lovers.

Ideal for rustic home decor or as a thoughtful handmade gift, this craft showcases the delicate beauty of botanical elements against a simple cardboard backdrop, making each piece unique and expressive.

32. Pot of Gold Rainbow Craft

Create a whimsical Pot of Gold Rainbow Craft using cardboard, yarn, bubble wrap, and bottle caps. Form a rainbow with colorful yarn and fashion a pot of gold using painted bottle caps.

The fluffy cloud effect is achieved with bubble wrap, adding texture and fun. Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or as a delightful room decoration, this craft brings joy and imagination to any setting, engaging kids with its playful theme.

33. Rustic Cardboard Flower Art

Craft an elegant Rustic Cardboard Flower Art using natural materials to showcase a floral display. Arrange dried flowers on a cardboard base, wrapping twine to mimic a jar or bouquet. This simple yet beautiful piece is perfect for home decor or as a handmade card.

The rustic charm lies in the earthy tones and textures, making it easy and eco-friendly. It’s a lovely way to upcycle old cardboard and flowers, adding a touch of nature to your space.

34. Cardboard Easter Mobile

Create a vibrant Cardboard Easter Mobile with cardboard cutouts of eggs, carrots, and bunnies. Each shape is adorned with bright paints and patterns. Attach these to a sturdy branch using string for an eye-catching mobile.

Perfect for outdoor play, the shapes cast beautiful shadows in sunlight. Kids will enjoy watching it spin in the breeze, enhancing creativity and holiday spirit through crafting and imaginative play.

35. Three Little Pigs Story Houses

Bring the “Three Little Pigs” story to life with this interactive DIY. Use cardboard to recreate the three houses—straw, sticks, and bricks—by adding real materials like hay, bark, and stones.

Children can use these houses to retell the story, boosting comprehension and engagement. This educational craft combines storytelling with hands-on creativity, making it ideal for classroom activities or family projects.

36. Button and Pom-Pom Turtles

Create colorful Button and Pom-Pom Turtles by attaching these materials to a cardboard shell base. Each turtle’s shell is uniquely decorated, while the body is crafted from green paper. Googly eyes add a playful touch.

This DIY helps young children develop fine motor skills while crafting cute, colorful turtles. It’s also a great way to use up extra buttons or crafting materials.

37. DIY Paper Quilling Sunburst Wreath

Craft a stunning Paper Quilling Sunburst Wreath by combining quilling techniques with a radiant design. Use rolled strips of colored paper to form delicate floral shapes. Arrange these around a cardboard base in concentric circles.

Alternate shades of blue in the quilled flowers for an appealing contrast. Thin paper rods radiate outward, adding dimension. This intricate yet simple project is perfect for home décor, offering a handcrafted touch to your walls.

38. DIY Cardboard Tea Set

Create an adorable Cardboard Tea Set for imaginative play. Form a teapot with a spout, lid, and handle, along with four matching cups from corrugated cardboard.

Draw and color floral designs on the teapot and cups, adding a playful touch. Ideal for kids, this project enhances fine motor skills while providing eco-friendly toys for pretend tea parties.

39. DIY Cardboard Dragon Sculpture

Bring a mythical creature to life with a Cardboard Dragon Sculpture. Use a simple cardboard cutout for the dragon’s body. Decorate it with pumpkin seeds painted in fiery red, orange, and green hues for textured scales.

Glue the seeds carefully for a 3D effect. Add an autumn leaf to mimic fire, blending nature with creativity. This artistic yet straightforward project suits fantasy lovers of all ages.