Guide
New life for old things: how to upcycle your old yoga mat
by Anika Schulz
How to upcycle cardboard to make cute little gingerbread houses
5.12.2024
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
Making a decorative gingerbread house from used cardboard is a piece of cake and a fun activity to do alone or with kids. I’ll walk you through the easy steps and provide you with two templates to trace and cut out.
You’re all set with Christmas gifts and have a pile of empty cardboard boxes to prove it? Good for you. And I’m not being sarcastic, by the way. Why would I when you can make beautiful tea lights from the boxes and transform your living room into a snowy winter village?
Copy the template and off you go
I created two templates for my winter village. I’ve gone for a house and a tower. Simply trace the two models onto the cardboard and adjust the size to your liking or print them out directly onto A3 paper.
If you’re creating your own design, be sure to include tabs you’ll need to glue together. If you print out my template for tracing, you can later cut out the cardboard along the solid lines using a cutter and transfer it to the cardboard with a felt-tip pen.
Once you’ve drawn the house onto the cardboard, cut it out with the cutter by guiding it precisely along the solid line using a protractor or ruler. Make sure you don’t confuse the solid with the broken lines. Then cut a slit into the bottom to insert and remove the LED tea lights.
Scoring, folding, glueing
To make folding easier, you can also gently «score» the dotted fold lines with the cutter. However, only apply light pressure to avoid cutting through the cardboard. Next, it’s time to fold the flaps and glue them to the appropriate place on the little house. Finally, use the LED tea light and let yourself be enchanted by the winter spirit.
Header image: Stefanie Lechthaler
Painting the walls just before handing over the flat? Making your own kimchi? Soldering a broken raclette oven? There's nothing you can't do yourself. Well, perhaps sometimes, but I'll definitely give it a try.
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