Cardboard Fireplace

We moved this year and we don’t have a fireplace at our new house, but…… we do have a lot of moving boxes and moving paper, which can be just as good! I wanted to make a fireplace so we would have a place for our Christmas stockings and thought the leftover moving boxes would work perfectly. After doing a quick search to see if anyone else has done this, I found that it seems pretty common. However, all the “fireplaces” I found were made using white paper with red paint. We only had red moving paper so I figured I would try to make the paper the bricks and use white paint for the grout. We think it turned out pretty awesome – and the best part is that it didn’t cost us a cent! If you are interested in making one, read below for the directions.

Materials

– 2 cardboard wardrobe boxes for the sides

– 1 long cardboard box for the mantel

– 2 pieces of scrap square cardboard for the back and the top center piece

– Red moving paper

– Sponge

– White paint

– Black paper

– Tape

Directions

1. Measure and cut two pieces of moving paper the length of the wardrobe boxes.

2. Put a thin line of white paint around the perimeter of one side of the sponge. See the picture below.

3. Place the sponge on one of the pieces of paper (paint-side down), pick it up, and continue doing this to form a brick pattern on the paper, reapplying the paint as needed. See the picture below. Repeat this for both sheets of paper that you cut. Allow them to dry.

4. Wrap one of the painted pieces of paper around one of the wardrobe boxes so that the bricks are on the outside. You will need to tape the paper to the back of the box so you can’t see the tape. Do this again for the opposite side of the fireplace.

5. In order to make the mantel, you need a long box to go across the top and rest on the two wardrobe boxes. If you want reinforcement, use 2 x 4’s spaced evenly inside the box. In the picture below are the 2 x 4’s outside of the box to show their placement inside the box.

6. Wrap the mantelpiece with moving paper and then paint all visible sides white (or whatever color you would like) paint. Allow it to dry.

7. Place the mantel across the top of the two wardrobe boxes.

8. Take a piece of moving paper that is cut to the size of the space between the wardrobe boxes and use your sponge again to paint a brick pattern on the paper. Allow it to dry.

9. Take the paper you just painted and tape it across the back of the wardrobe boxes. You may want to use a piece of cardboard behind it for added support if needed.

10. Cut a piece of cardboard for the front center piece of the fireplace. It should fit tightly between the two wardrobe boxes.

11. Cover the piece of cardboard you just cut with moving paper and use your sponge to paint a brick pattern on the paper. You might want to make the bricks match up with the sides or create a decorative pattern. Allow to dry.

12. Tape the front center piece you just made to the inside of the fireplace.

13. Now you are ready to decorate your fireplace! I covered up the two spaces created by the front center piece with stockings so they aren’t as noticeable.