How to Make a DIY Treasure Chest

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Kids love exploring and doing crafts, so this DIY treasure chest makes for the perfect craft project for kids that doubles as a fun toy afterward!

DIY Treasure Chest

Children of all ages have come down with a pirate fever, or at least they love to be pirates.

I always love to encourage imaginative play for so many reasons so that is why I love crafts like this DIY treasure chest because it is a craft project they can make and then they can use their imagination playing with.

This pirate treasure chest craft will have your kids yo-ho-ho-ing.

Making your treasure chest

Treasure Chest Supplies:

• An empty shoebox (preferably one with an attached lid)
• Black paint
• Black construction paper
• Yellow construction paper
• Scrap paper (we used packing paper, but newspaper will be great)
• Craft paint roller (sponge trim roller)
• Scissors
• Tape
• Glue

How to make a DIY Treasure Chest

1. First, you will want to paint the box black.

I like to use a roller to do this with the kids because it seems to be less messy.

It also uses minimal paint which allows the shoebox to dry in minutes. If you are using a paint brush expect it to take a few hours for the box to dry.

If you want to steer aways from the painting option, you can always choose to cut and glue construction paper instead of painting, too.

2. While the paint dries, draw 1 inch wide lines on the yellow paper.

3. Next, cut out the strips of paper.

4. Draw two lines on a sheet of black construction paper about 1/4th of the paper width from each side going up.

5. Squeeze a bead of glue along the lines and then place yellow strips on the glue.

6. Crumple up your scrap paper and place it on the lid of the box.

7. Take your piece of black construction paper (that has the yellow stripes glued on) and tape it to the lid of your box.

8. Use transparent tape to affix the long side of the paper to the long side of the box.

9. Place your paper over the crumpled scrap paper and tape the other long side to the other long side of the lid.

10. Trim off any excess from the short side ends.

11. After you have trimmed excess off, cut two rectangles out of black construction paper about the same length as the short side of your box.  Open your lid to your DIY treasure chest and tape the rectangles to the bottom at the very edge.

12. When you close the lid it almost looks like your box has airplane wings.

13. Then, take those “wings” and fold them up against the rounded part of the lid.

14. Tape or glue the rectangle side to the edge of the rounded top. (Your sides should look like the above picture.)

15. Trim the excess by cutting along the rounded seam.

16. Squeeze lines of glue on the front of the box that line up with the yellow stripes on the top.

17. Finally, place the two more yellow strips on the glue.  Repeat this step for the back of the box, too.

Now you have a DIY treasure chest perfect for going on your own pirate adventures!

Share in the comments what your kids put in their DIY Treasure Chests!

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