Repurpose a Cardboard Box into a Concrete Light Ring

I’m so excited to share this week’s bit of craftiness with you all. A few weeks back, this crazy cardboard box repurpose idea popped into my head, and honestly, I wasn’t sure if it would work. But I’m happy to report, it did. And I’m in love with how this faux concrete light ring turned out.

 

What do you think?

 

It’s a little bit minimal, with a whole bunch of texture and interest thrown in for fun.

 

There are also lots of mossy bits.

 

And if you’ve been following the blog for a while, you’ll know how much we love our moss.

 

Plus, it looks magical at night when the lights are on.

 

And the whole thing is made from cardboard, with a few other household items thrown in to appease the goddess of recycling 😉 Cardboard is such a versatile throw-away thing to upcycle into amazing home decor, like this off the shelf vase or a primitive stone statue. 

 

But I’m getting ahead of myself 😉 Right, before I share how to repurpose a cardboard box and turn it into a concrete light ring, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. And don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll never miss a post!

What you need

• Large, sturdy cardboard box or 2 x pizza boxes
• Plastic straws
• Glue Gun
• Moss
• Twigs
• Battery-operated Fairy Lights
• Texture Paste or you can make your own with Plaster of Paris or Cornflour

 

You’ll also need large round things to use as a template to make the ring. I used a plate and a weber lid. See what you can find in your house. My finished ring light has a diameter of 37 cm. Just make sure the one circular thing is at least 5cm (2″) smaller than the larger circular thing.

Repurposing a cardboard box into a concrete light ring

Making the cardboard ring

Did I mention this is an easy DIY? Okay, maybe not as easy as making 10-minute box lights, but still pretty straightforward once you put the cardboard ring together. To make the ring, grab a large, sturdy cardboard box and place whatever you’re using as the large circular template on the cardboard.

 

Trace around the outside and cut out two circles using a sharp craft knife.

 

Place the smaller circular thing in the center of the larger circles and cut it out.

 

You should end up with two equally sized cardboard rings.

 

Cut a few plastic straws into 5cm (2″) lengths.

 

Glue the straws down about 2.5cm (1″) inwards from the inner circle of the ring. The gap is important if you’re making a faux concrete light ring. If you want a concrete ring without the lights, you can glue the straws on the edge of the ring.

 

Put a blob of glue on top of the straws, carefully line up the other ring and glue down. You should end up with something like this.

 

Cut a strip of cardboard that’s as wide as the gap between the two rings, including the outer edges. Glue it on the outside of the two rings.

 

Cut another strip of cardboard that’s the width of the gap between the inside rings and glue it down on the straws.

 

So that’s the basic cardboard ring done. Easy right? Let’s quickly look at turning this ring into faux concrete and adding some stars and a few small Christmas trees.

Turning the cardboard ring into faux concrete and adding embellishments

Using scrap cardboard, cut out a few different-sized stars and cone shapes for the Christmas trees. You’re welcome to use any other shapes or figurines to dolly up the inside of your ring. Paint the ring, stars, and tree cones white to disguise the cardboard before applying a thick layer of texture paste. We make our own using glue, paint, and cornflour or plaster of Paris. Store-bought texture paste works just as well.

 

Use an old paintbrush or palette knife to apply the texture paste all over the cardboard ring, stars, and cones.

 

Leave to dry completely.

 

Mix a teeny, tiny bit of black paint with white to make a light grey. Dry brush the grey on the ring and embellishments.

 

Add a drop or two of black to the grey to make a darker grey. Dry brush the dark grey over the light grey to create a layered look.

 

Leave to dry before finishing off.

Adding embellishments and light to the concrete ring

Play around with the layout of all your embellishments until you’re happy.

 

Cut a few small twigs to the right height and glue them inside the cone shapes to make easy Christmas trees.

 

Use a glue gun to glue the embellishments on the cardboard faux concrete ring.

 

Glue a little bit of moss around the cone Christmas trees to hide the glue.

 

And finally, glue the fairy lights to the inside front-facing side of the faux concrete ring. Hide the battery pack under some moss.

 

You can put your concrete ring light on a mantle or tabletop, and you can even hang it as a wreath if you’re that way inclined. If she rolls around (coz rings tend to do that 😉 ), place a small pebble on either side of the ring. I stopped mine from rolling off the table with a large rock.

 

I love the way to mossy greenery contrasts with the faux concrete.

 

And those twig-ish tree stumps.

 

 

 

Our buddha is no longer peeing in the CD spindle water feature and looks pretty serene sitting next to the ring.

 

And don’t even get me started on how beautiful it looks when you switch the lights on.

 

 

What do you think? Would you use cardboard to make Christmas decor?

 

If you like the idea of repurposing a cardboard box and turning it into a concrete light ring, don’t forget to pin it for later.

 

Sharing is caring

 

Oh, and if you’re looking for some of the things we used, we’ve got you covered. Disclosure: Clicking on the links below, means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry, it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us make more amazing crafts to share with you 😉

For the texture paste

And if you prefer to buy rather than DIY, then maybe these beauties will appeal.

And as always, wishing you a wonderful, crafty week filled with lots of love. Thank you for popping in for a visit.