Lovely DIY Upcycled Cardboard Tags

There’s something so satisfying about crafting with items you already have at home. These DIY cardboard tags represent the perfect mix of sustainability, creativity, and practicality. They can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish, allowing your personal style to shine through while giving new life to materials that would otherwise be thrown out.

Among the myriad of items that often find their way into our recycling bins, cardboard stands out as perhaps one of the most versatile. From shipping boxes to packaging from our favorite products, cardboard constantly flows through our homes, and most of it has untapped potential. This project transforms this humble material into something both beautiful and functional: handcrafted tags made from upcycled cardboard.

Why You’ll Love Making These Tags

There’s something deeply fulfilling about transforming what most would consider waste into something beautiful and useful. One of the most compelling reasons to fall in love with this project is its accessibility. Unlike many crafts that require specialized tools or expensive materials, these tags can be made with items you likely already have at home. The primary material—cardboard—costs nothing, as you’re simply repurposing what would otherwise be discarded.

How You Can Use These Tags

The beauty of these handcrafted cardboard tags lies in their incredible versatility. I was inspired to make them as inserts for my junk journal (check out our first junk journal video here). However, you can easily use them as bookmarks, mixed media craft embellishments or as a little surprise gift in a greeting card.

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These cardboard tags also make wonderful gift accompaniments. Attach them to birthday gifts, holiday presents, or hostess offerings to add that special touch that shows you’ve gone the extra mile.

Join our crafting community to find more DIYs and upcycled craft ideas. It feels good to repurpose and upcycle!

To help you create these thoughtful tags, we have a printable filled with some of our favorite motivational sentiments. Use them for your journals, notebooks and other crafts. The printable includes both black and white and coffee paper background colors.

Materials Needed

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• Cardboard
• Decorative paper napkins
• Decoupage or Mod Podge
• White paint
• Paintbrushes
• Ribbon
• Twine
• Buttons
• Hot glue
• Scissors and hole punch
• Cricut EasyPress Mini Iron (optional)
• Motivational Sentiments Printable (see above to access)

How to Make Lovely Tags with Upcycled Cardboard

For a video tutorial on how to make these junk journal tags, head over to our YouTube channel.

Use a ruler to cut your piece of cardboard into evenly sized rectangles. I made eight with my piece of cardboard.

Adjust for smaller gift tags or unique shapes like hearts. Round some of the corners and cut others on an angle.

If your cardboard is a darker color, paint it with white chalk or acrylic paint and let dry. Next, apply a coat of decoupage glue or Mod Podge and let dry completely.

Separate the plies of a paper napkin to use just the top printed layer. Place the napkin on top of the cardboard and gently smooth it over the dried Mod Podge surface. Use a mini iron to press the napkin onto the cardboard tag.

Cut off any excess with scissors or a sanding block.

Add some ink to the edges and onto the surface using a stencil. I used both brown and fuscia inks for my tags.

Punch a hole into the top of the cardboard tags.

Cut several strands of ribbon or twine and loop them through the hole at the top of each bookmark. Add a bit of hot glue to hold into place.

Next, print off the motivational sentiments printable (see above to access) onto a piece of paper. I actually used a paper envelope that I cut down to a smaller size to fit in my printer. You could also make your own coffee paper and print them onto there.

If desired, ink the the edges of each paper after cutting out the sentiments you wish to use.

Glue the sentiments onto the cardboard tags, alternating directions if you choose.

Hot glue buttons or other embellishments to finish.

Sustainable Crafting

What began as a simple way to reuse cardboard has blossomed into a versatile craft project that connects us to sustainable practices while unleashing our creativity.

Whether you’re making these tags for yourself, as gifts, or for your business, remember that perfection isn’t the goal – just making something beautiful is. The slight variations, the visible textures of the layers of paper, and the handmade quality are precisely what make these tags special.

More DIY Tags and Bookmarks

• Tweety Felt Bird Bookmark
• Beachy Bookmark with Paint Pouring
• Happy Hamster Printable Bookmark
• Colorful Monster Paperclips
• Valentine’s Day Coloring Bookmarks

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