There is nothing more gratifying than taking a piece of junk and turning it into a treasure. I am always looking for fun new ways to alter my trash. Around here, we go through a lot of chewing gum. Boys always need fresh breath. You never know when a “hottie” is going to walk by, or so my teenage sons say. For this project I decided to alter one of their chewing gum wrappers.

Begin by gathering your supplies. You’ll need:

Bone folder (not pictured because I don’t have one- I used a rounded CD case)
Chewing gum wrapper similar to the one pictured below
Liquid glue (I used Adhesive Tech’s “The Photo and Memory Glue Tube”
Patterned paper or cardstock
Pencil
Scissors
Stapler
Supplies to embellish the top of the box
Tin foil
Typing paper

Step 1:
Carefully pull the box apart at the seam.

Step 2:
Put the opened box face down on the wrong side of a piece of patterned paper or cardstock. Trace around the box, and mark the folds. Using a bone folder, carefully fold the box at each mark. (*Note: The illustration shows me marking on a piece of cardstock, but for this project I used heavy weight patterned paper as my base.)

Step 3:
Carefully glue the side flaps together, making sure to put the notched flap on the inside. Replace the plastic insert to make sure it fits. If it doesn’t, immediately pull the seam back apart and re-glue it leaving a little more slack. Once you have the new outer box completed, embellish the top however you wish. (To determine which side of the box is the top, look at the side seam. The seam should be facing down if you are looking at it from the top of the box.) Set the box aside.

Step 4:
Cut enough strips of typing paper to fill each compartment of the gum wrapper. Each strip should be about 3/8”x3”. Write a note on each strip, and fold it small enough to fit into each compartment. Using liquid glue, cover the entire top of the plastic gum holder. Do not get glue inside any of the compartments. Put one strip of paper into each compartment.

Step 5:
Cover the holder with foil. Let the glue dry and trim around the edges.

Step 6:
Staple several pieces of ribbon together on one end of the holder.

Step 7:
Replace the plastic holder into the embellished outer box to complete the project.

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