Upholster a Box for Storage with a Recycled Poster - DIY

I "upholstered" a box using the back side of a poster destined for recycling.  I liked the glossy sheen of the poster and thought it would look nice on the outside of the box.  This is the box I made:

For this tutorial, you will need:

•  Some form of glossy, durable and flexible paper (here, a poster).  You will need enough to cover the box.  Try to have at least one complete sheet per box side around the perimeter and for the height, match the height of the box with at least 2 inches extra to hang over the inside of the box and avoid unsightly cuts being visible from the outside of the box.
• A whole puncher
• Scissors
• A box (desired size matching that that you would like your final container to be.  Have a look at your space and decide which size you would like!)
• String (here I used string I made from plastic drinking water bottles.  I cut in a spiraling motion, making 1.5 cm wide "string").  Any string will do.  Consider what will look good on your container.  Ribbon would be pretty, if you have enough.  You need approximately 2.5 times the height of the box in string per edge (so 4 strings).

I used this box (below).  I trimmed the top flaps, leaving 2 inches hanging over into the inside to help keep it sturdy.

I placed my glossy white covering around the box, cutting a distance of one and a half times the box height.  I folded the poster (I needed to use two sections to cover the whole perimeter) around the horizontal and vertical (pictured here) edges, then pressed down on the folded edges, flattening it to help it keep its shape.  I cut along the horizontal edge for the portion that would fold over the box and be on the inside.  I then cut about an inch in from the topmost part, cutting a curved lines inwards to converge at the inner flap hinge (to prevent overlapping of the poster covering the flaps on the inside of the box).

I folded the poster edges with the upper flaps tucked under and used a hole puncher to make holes 1.5 inches apart along the edges.

Here is my string and the folded posters I will use:

I then placed the poster along the box as I would like it to sit, then piercing the box through the hole-punched holes, until I had pierced through the whole cardboard layer (or layers, where there is the inner flap too).  If the inner flap poster section doesn't line up, you can go over it with your hole puncher again, to line it up with where you pierced into the cardboard, or simply pierce through the inner layer of poster with the scissors, from the outside.  Watch out for your hands!  I sometimes use a pencil too, to create a cleaner hole after I've pierced first with the scissors.

After I've made all appropriate holes for any one edge, I lace the string through it to keep it there and then move on to the next row of holes.  The whole time, make sure everything is lined up evenly to get your desired look.  For my plastic string to fit cleanly through the holes, I folded it in half to strengthen it and narrow it down.  Sometimes, if the hole was tight, I went back in with my scissors or pencil to widen it.

It's a little trickier when you have an overlap of two poster sections.  Here, you can simply punch through double the poster, or keep only the top and bottom sections (2 inches each) and cut out the middle to make it easier (as long as the part you cut out is hidden by the poster section over it!).

Make sure you have the inner box flaps and poster covering inner flaps lined up with the holes on the outside.  You can be flexible with it and cut new holes as needed.  As long as the outside is clean, it will still look nice.

Here is the final product:

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments in the comments section below.

Enjoy!! 

LJR, Kraft Queen.