This was the discovery that launched Right Now Crafts! It’s an easy way to turn an empty Annie’s-type mac and cheese box into an awesome little house. My favorite little trick in this design is the built-in tape flaps that make the house so easy to put together.
The box ends up inside-out so there’s a beautiful plain brown surface you can decorate or leave natural. There are so many ways to decorate your house! See my post on coloring brown paper.
make a nifty house in minutes out of an Annie’s or Kraft-type mac&cheese box
turn your house into anything you can imagine
the box does most of the work for you!
If you can wrangle a dried-cheese packet you can make a Mac&Cheese House!
Steps At a Glance:
Ready? Here’s how:
1
You’ll need:
an empty mac&cheese box
regular or double-sided tape
scissors
pencil
this pattern, printed and cut out
I tested this pattern on all the brands of mac&cheese I could find, and it worked on all of them. If your box doesn’t quite fit the pattern it will still work! See the fix at the end of the post.
2
Open the bottom flaps and the side seam by gently separating them. You need all the flaps. It’s OK if the box peels a bit. If the glue is stubborn try starting from the other end.
Set your flat box so the narrow side flap is to the left, as shown here. Put the pattern on the box so the pattern lines up with the box folds.
Trace all around with pencil.
Be sure to include the little top flap on the far right!
3
Cut the house out with scissors.
Decorate now while the house is flat, or after it’s put together.
See some house ideas at the bottom of the post.
4
Bend and refold the four vertical factory-made folds backwards. The house goes together inside-out so bending the folds into their new direction now makes it easy to reassemble.
See how the folds extend up into the roof sections; be sure to fold the roof flaps backwards as well as the main house sections.
Next, fold the three roof sections straight down like this to make creases. This gives the roof a crisp edge. Unfold the roof sections to their original position so your house is all flat again.
5
Fold the house like this to bring the glued seam back together. If you’re using double-sided tape, put tape on the narrow glue flap then lay the side panel on top and press to seal.
Or tape it closed on the outside with regular tape.
Tape the entire seam closed including the roof section.
6
Find the roof section that has the small top flap and put double-sided tape on all three of those flaps. Tuck the two longer flaps inside the house to form one side of the roof.
Put tape on the two flaps on the other roof section.
Bend the little top flap down, then tuck in the flaps of the second roof section. Fit into place over the small top flap.
With one hand inside and one outside the house press the seams together for a strong seal.
If using regular tape, assemble the roof section in the same way and tape closed from the outside.
Push the bottom flaps inside.
Congratulations on your new house!
And Try This:
Easy windows
Take a scrap of paperboard, cut a rectangle, and fold a little of each outer edge in to form the shutters. Decorate with marker, and attach with double-sided tape or regular tape wrapped around itself sticky side out.
The nice thing with these is you can play with different shapes and sizes of windows and where to put them before you commit!
Questions
Will this work with boxes from other brands of macaroni & cheese?
Yes! Most all brands will work. But if your box is a little bigger than the pattern, no worries! Center the house shape on one side of the box, trace, then shift the pattern so it’s centered on the other side, and trace. When you cut the house out, be sure to snip the roof line to where it touches the box fold.
By the way, you can use this trick to make the pattern work for one-pound sugar boxes too.
Can I make my house shorter?
Yes. Just cut an inch or two off the bottom of the box (not counting the flaps) when you cut out the house.
What can I use to decorate my house?
See this post on decorating brown paper for some suggestions! The houses at the top of the post are colored with markers, with white colored pencil for the windows.
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions please drop me a line.