I have this really weird habit of trying to find the prettiest package of Kleenex boxes I can when we have to get some new ones at the store..
And you know what?
There was one box that I actually couldn’t even throw away this time because it was so pretty and I knew there just had to be some practical way to use it!
So I started looking at it, and it just so happened that my planner was sitting right beside the box when it dawned on me, what about planner dividers?
Duh! It was so simple I’m surprised I never thought of it before.. Then again, no, not really!
So after weeks of protecting an empty Kleenex box sitting on my desk from whoever’s taking out the trash, I finally got around to making the dividers yesterday afternoon. And here’s the simple, step-by-step tutorial for them!
You’ll need:
Empty Kleenex box(s) – You get two dividers from each box
Scissors
Washi Tape (optional)
Punch
To get started, you’ll want to look at your box and figure out where it’s glued together.
Gently peel the ends open where they were glued together and then you can flatten it out..
It’ll look like this when flatten out!
Now grab your scissors and start cutting the two side panels off of the box. You’ll want to try and get a pretty straight cut on these!
Once your sides are cut off, cut the top and bottom tabs off so you have a nice clean rectangle.
Now it’s time to break out the washi tape! See that big set up in the corner? You can find those on Amazon:
I actually didn’t even realize I had matching washi tape and kleenex boxes until I started trying to figure what tape to use.. Imagine that! So here I just picked a couple of thin tapes to use as the outer border underneath the wider tape.
Now here is where your punch comes in handy.. I have the Staples Arc planner system (which isn’t very widely used I’m learning!) and so I have the big Staples Arc punch. (This has been really handy to use for different charts, lists, and extra planner pages I’ve added!)
So when punching your dividers, you just have to remember that they are made from cardboard and that cardboard is quite a bit thicker than paper.. So you’ll want to be careful as it might be a bit harder to punch than normal!
After you’ve punched the dividers, you’ll want to cut your “tab” out. I didn’t measure or do anything too particular, just made a couple of straight cuts!
Then you might want to grab a rounded corner punch and round off the edges – This will give your dividers a more “finished” look!
Ohhh, they’re so pretty!! (You can see I used a couple of different wide washi tapes to try and mix it up a little!)
Have fun with your new dividers and…
Drop me a note in the comments below and let me know how they turned out and any suggestions you have!
Ashleigh
Dandi D says
This is a really great idea and it makes me want to go find some fun patterned tissue boxes!