- Dec 21, 2022

How to Make DIY Christmas Ornaments Out of Recycled Matchboxes

Get creative this holiday season with a unique Christmas craft project! Learn how to make beautiful matchbox ornaments out of recycled materials.

I love using recycled or repurposed materials in my craft projects. I think it gives the project added satisfaction over using craft store supplies.

See my tutorials for making ornaments from wine corks and inspirational wall art from matchboxes.

Before we move on to the tutorial, you might wonder what other crafty things you can do with matchboxes...

What can you make with a matchbox?

Matchboxes
Scrapbook paper
Plastic embellishments or scrapbook stickers
Any other bits and bobs you have
Seasonal paper napkins
Metalic string

Step 1

Remove the matches and the cover.

All you need for this project is the pull-out box cubby part.

Instead of throwing them away, I stuck both the matches and cover in a ziplock for whenever I might need matches.

Step 2

To cover the inside of the matchbox cubby, outline the cubby on the back of the card stock you want to use. Then you'll pick up the cubby and measure the sides around it like in the picture above.

Step 3

Cut out the card stock along the outline you just made, making sure you also cut out the corners. Next, fold the flaps around the sides like in the picture.

Step 4

Put the folded card stock into the cubby. It should fit pretty perfectly, tho you might need to trim the sides a little depending on how much room you gave when measuring it.

Time to decorate the matchbox!

There are so many ways you can decorate the inside of the cubby. I'll show you what I did, but let your imagination run wild. Of course, it will also depend on what supplies you have.

Matchbook 1

Something you should think about utilizing is double-sided foam tape. It will give paper pictures some depth.

I put the double-sided foam tape on the back of a Christmas door picture.

See how it sticks out a little?

How I did the rest of matchbox 1:

The gift embellishments are puffy stickers that I stacked together.
I made the string of lights using a wire and glued tiny rhinestone stars to it.
I added a little Glossy Acents by Ranger to only the wreath on the door.

Matchbook 2:

I found a product that's supposed to look like snow, so I used it for this matchbox ornament.

Little plastic Christmas embellishments are great to use for these ornaments. You can get a ton of them for a low price on Amazon.

How I did the rest of matchbox 2:

I used little silver vinyl stickers, usually used for nail art in the background.
On top of the vinyl stickers, I put tiny polymer snowflakes.

Matchbox 3

Another great thing to use for these ornaments is dimensional scrapbook stickers.

How I did the rest of matchbox 3...

Used another plastic embellishment
folded a pipe cleaner to fit the bottom

Now, we're not done yet. There's the matter of decorating the back of the ornaments.

I used Mod Podge and Christmas napkins to cover the back and sides of two of the ornaments. Since the napkins are so thin, it's easy to cover the cardboard without having to cut other paper.