A Bright Idea: Recycle A Pasta Box & Transform Into This Magical Light Box

diy recycled pasta box-light box craft-twinkle lights

We are Italian, so we eat a lot of pasta. It’s our love language. We still dream of all the delicious pasta we ate everyday in Italy. We love to cook pasta for our families, too. Whether it’s with red sauce, or a creamy pesto sauce, and topped with meat or vegetables, we love to cook it…and devour it. Most of us are gluten free, and initially (years ago), pasta just wasn’t the same. Now, there are so many wonderful gluten free options at the store, we cannot even tell the difference. It’s so yummy. Barilla is hands-down our favorite. It tastes delicious, and it’s easy to cook. Plus, we can buy spaghetti noodles, lasagna no-boil noodles, penne and more! This post is not sponsored by Barilla (we genuinely love their products), although we would love to make some recipes sponsored by them. Hint, hint!

Recently, our Barilla gluten free penne box not only inspired a meal, but also a craft. We recycled the box, and transformed it into a DIY light box for Valentine’s Day. Now, that’s a bright idea worth sharing! The kids helped paint the boxes, and we cut the hearts, so it was a family effort. This DIY project costs very little money, it can be shipped to a loved one, aka grandparents, easily because it’s very lightweight, and when lit, it’s magical. It’s hard not to feel the love when those lights comes on inside the box. If you have little ones that want to continue crafting after they decorate the box, save some noodles, and paint them too. Send a pretty DIY necklace along with the box.

Let’s get started…

diy recycled pasta box-light box craft-twinkle lights

Materials:

  • Barilla pasta box
  • Acrylic paint (optional: glitter and stickers)
  • Paintbrush
  • cellophane paper
  • Xacto knife
  • double-sided tape
  • twinkle lights (remote-operated, color or white lights work)
  • Paint pen, Elmer’s, fine tip

Directions: 

Step 1: Find a heart printable on the internet. Print it. Tape it on top of the box, and begin to cut with the Xacto knife.

Step 2: Paint the box. Two coats is best, depending on the saturation and paint color you choose.

Step 3: Once paint is dry, cut small boxes of cellophane sheets to match the size of each heart. Place the small square over the heart, to make sure it fits. Add a small square of double sided tape to each corner of the box. Now, carefully use your fingers to place the cellophane box inside the pasta box behind the heart you sized it for. Press down on each corner so it stays in place. Repeat until all the hearts have a colorful cellophane sheet behind them.

diy recycled pasta box-light box craft-twinkle lights

Step 4: Place twinkle lights inside. Move them around as you need. As far as twinkle lights go, the colorful ones were the brightest, and we liked them the best. But, white lights are pretty, too. These are so small, the battery pack can be glued inside the box, but not sure they will be the brightest due to 20 fairy lights on each string. If you use a small pasta box, these would work great, and you get more of them, so more bang for your buck.

diy recycled pasta box-light box craft-twinkle lights

Step 5: With the paint pen, add a cute phrase like, “You light up my life.” on the bottom clear cellophane strip already on the pasta box. If you want to make it extra special, you can add a photo behind one of the hearts, too.

diy recycled pasta box-light box craft-twinkle lights

 

diy recycled pasta box-light box craft-twinkle lights

diy recycled pasta box-light box craft-twinkle lights

diy recycled pasta box-light box craft-twinkle lights

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase any of the items, we may make a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting our family blog. 

DIY Lightbox With Twinkle Lights

DIY LIGHTBOX_for kids and tweens-twinkle-lights-room-decor

Most (if not all) of you probably put the Christmas decorations away until next November/December. The decor is fun and festive, but it was beginning to clutter my mind (and house) with chaos, so mine went down shortly after New Year’s day. But, I did keep all the twinkle lights out…because I love the twinkle year-round. I made a DIY lightbox for my daughter, and it’s been shining bright in her room ever since!

You don’t need a fancy machine or equipment for this project, which means it’s a must-do! You can make for your son or daughter, and use whatever quote inspires you (or your kids), because all of our kids have a bright light to share with the world. As parents, we just need to give them the guidance and freedom to follow their light, and the confidence to never let anyone or anything dim it. Sometimes our kids need a reminder of their light, and this DIY lightbox is a good one.

The full tutorial is at Momtastic, so be sure to check it out here.

Happy New Year. We hope it’s a bright year for each and every one of you! Keep shining bright!

DIY LIGHTBOX_for kids and tweens-twinkle-lights-room-decor

Note: Thanks to Oriental Trading, who sent the Vellum paper for a different Halloween project. So happy the vellum can be used so so many other projects, like this one. 

DIY Mason Jar Night Light That Glows Bright

mason-jar-night-light-with-a-white-unicorn-on-top-rainbow-twinkle-lights-inside

If you have kids who are afraid of the dark (like we do), add this DIY night light to your DIY list. It’s ridiculously easy with a mason jar and twinkle lights. Plus, it has magical unicorn powers during the day, and then at night, all will be calm and bright (not too bright, but bright enough to put your little ones at ease).

See the full tutorial at Momtastic.

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