MODERN ART WRAPPING PAPER & BOX TOPS HOLDER

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BoxTopsHero #CollectiveBias

When the summer boredom blues hits get a jump start on back to school with kid crafted Modern Art Wrapping Paper & Box Tops Holder.

Kids crave adventure, experimentation and fun but it can be hard to keep them engaged over the long summer break. Get messy and let them go wild with this art project using basic household products.

Remember back to school shopping as a kid? It was my favorite! Yes, I love shopping for clothes but a day spent picking out new school supplies was almost as good and my kids feel the same way.  In addition to the first day of school picture, summertime school supply shopping is a back to school tradition in our house. We gather all the supply lists early, go to lunch then shopping while the crowds are low and the selection is still great. They choose sfun items and I mark that chore off my list early. During our early summer supply run this year we stopped by Walmart and saw that all of our favorite household basics featuring Box Tops for Education were featured in the middle of the paper products aisle! In addition to school supplies we stocked up on all these basics.

Do you know about Box Tops for Education? Those little BTFE ‘stamps’ that you see on all your favorite brands do BIG things for local schools! Box Tops are worth 10 cents each and with Kleenex® Trusted Care* 3 Bundle Pack, Kleenex® Trusted Care* 4 Bundle Pack, Scott® Tissue 20 Roll Pack, Viva® Vantage® 6 Big Rolls offering double Box Tops they add up fast for your school! Since I needed some Kleenex for the school anyway I decided to stock up for home and be a Box Tops hero simply by buying the items I already use.

Fletcher will be in 2nd grade this year and at his school whenever a student brings in Box Tops they get to choose a special pencil in the office. The kids love this and Fletcher has already become a Box Tops hero constantly pointing out the Box Tops, cutting them out and collecting them. Awesome for the school but unfortunately for me my kitchen drawer has been overrun with Box Tops. So why not use the products that give us Box Tops to create a fun Box Tops for Education holder? A Box Tops holder could be super simple, you could just save one of the empty Kleenex boxes and use it corral Box Tops, but why not use this project as a way to beat the summer boredom blues?

Over the years I’ve learned that it’s best to multi task, even with kids art projects. Instead of simply making a Box Tops holder, I decided to have the kids decorate diy wrapping paper to wrap the Box Tops holder that can also be used to wrap presents for months to come.

To make the wrapping paper all you need is a roll of white or brown kraft paper, some paint and simple stamps. It’s inevitable that the paints will be mixed together so with projects like these, I like to offer paint options that look great together and when mixed. You can do whatever paint colors you choose, but since I am somewhat of a control freak I chose three colors that will match my home décor.

This project will get messy, so choose a large area where you can roll out the paper and don’t mind getting splattered with paint. Fill a baking sheet with all the paint colors and set out different items to be used as stamps and paint brushes.

Get creative! I gave the kids a few toilet paper rolls to use as stamps, one as a circle and one cut up on the end to resemble a sun. I also used hot glue to create a design on an empty paper towel roll for them to use as a large paint roller.

Younger children may just see it as the largest finger painting ever, and that’s beautiful too!

Using the finished wrapping paper, scissors, and a glue stick you can now make the Box Tops holder. Large black letters differentiate between the Box Tops for each of my boys and give the project a modern look.

You can wrap the empty Kleenex box however you like. For clean lines, I marked straight lines from the edges, cut out the excess and used a glue stick to adhere to the box.

Simply cut out the paper covering the hole already in the Kleenex box and your Box Tops holder is complete! I also picked up some heavy duty magnets and hot glued them to the back so that they can be hung on the side of my fridge, saving valuable counter space in my small kitchen.

Beautiful and useful! I love that by purchasing our regular household basics like Kleenex facial tissue we can give back double! Plus collecting Box Tops is a good way for younger kids to practice their scissor skills and gives older kids addition and multiplication practice over the summer.

What are your tips for beating the mid summer boredom blues? Do you have any Back to School traditions? Comment below to share!