Accordion Recipe Box DIY | A Craft, Create and Swap Club Project

I’m so excited to share a step-by-step tutorial on how I made this accordion recipe box — a project I created for my Craft, Create and Swap Club swap! Honestly, I love how it turned out so much that I had second thoughts about giving it away. Hahaha! But of course I will. This little sweetheart is headed to the Philippines, and I really hope my swap mate loves it as much as I do. 

Fun fact: this is actually a 3-in-1 project! It’s part of my entry for this week’s Bee Happy Weeklies (theme: Repurposed / Recycle), my CCSC swap, and a Design Team project for the Kelly Bangs Creative Squad. Talk about hitting three birds with one (beautifully decorated) stone! I repurposed cardboard and scraps, and even managed to tick off three to-dos from my growing creative list. 

I learned how to make this from Alagaina Scrap’s YouTube tutorial. I’ve been learning Spanish since January, and when I stumbled upon her video, I thought it would be fun to watch and test how much I could understand. Spoiler alert: not a lot, and only very slowly BUT it made me realize something — crafting truly is a universal language. You don’t always need to understand the words to follow along. Just like when I join Arabic Cricut classes, I may not catch everything that’s said, but I can still follow just by watching. Creative people just get it. 

A little side story: I was watching a Polkadoodles live earlier, and Wendy, another DT member, brought up how we sometimes write a little too much in our blog posts. The topic actually started from discussing blogging vs. social media — and how many companies now look for active Instagram or Facebook pages when choosing their Design Team members. But there are also brands that still value blogs, and some even prefer that you have one, regardless of your follower count.

Good thing I’m active on all three — Instagram, Facebook, and this blog — so it doesn’t really matter to me either way. But I’m so glad I finally started this blog - no regrets at all nor thoughts that I will stop this soon. I mentioned in my very first post that starting one has been a long-time dream… and funny enough, just a few weeks ago, I discovered that I had actually created one way back in 2013! It was for my Treatcetera business, and I must’ve signed up, linked it to my personal email, and never published a single post. It’s just been sitting there quietly for more than a decade!

So really, no regrets at all. This blog has become my creative diary — a space where I can share not just how-tos, but the stories and inspiration behind my projects, the behind-the-scenes chaos, and little discoveries like this one. 

Anyway, here goes my "how to make an Accordion Recipe Box" (it was mentioned earlier that if you just put how to this and how to that, Google picks up and recommends your blog to people! haha!)

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Materials Used:

• Cardboard (recycled boxes work perfectly! For this project, I used an empty box of laundry soap)

• Plain cardstock

• Patterned paper – Kelly Bangs’ “Color Me Happy” Collection

• Ephemera – Also from “Color Me Happy”

• Surebonder Glue Gun

• Cutterpillar Pro Paper Trimmer

• Cutterpillar Crease Score Board

• Bearly Art Precision Glue

• Little Birdie Flower Embellishments

• Dear Lizzy Alphabet Thickers

• We R Makers Book Cover Guide

• We R Makers Crop-a-Dile

• Foam Tape

• Plastic Spoon (yes, really!)

• Ribbon

• Happy Planner Sticker

  
  

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Step-by-Step Instructions

Make the Box Base

Cardboard pieces (all in inches):

• 2 pcs — 2 1/5 x 7

• 1 pc — 3 x 7

• 1 pc — 4 x 7

• 1 pc — 5 x 7

 

1. Prepare a 20 x 9 plain cardstock.

   
   
   
   

2. Lay the cardboard pieces in this order (left to right):

   4 x 7, 2 1/5 x 7, 5 x 7, 2 1/5 x 7, 3 x 7

   
   
   

3. Leave approx. 1/16” space between each piece. Glue them to the cardstock (I used the We R Makers Book Cover Guide for spacing).

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

4. Miter the corners, then tape down all 4 sides using double-sided tape.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

5. Fold along the gaps to crease and shape your box.

6. Prepare 18 x 8 patterned paper and glue to the opposite side to cover the cardboard.

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Make the Accordion Pockets

1. Cut 8 pieces of patterned paper to 7 1/2 x 9. (Tip: Double-sided papers would look even better!)

   
   
   
   
   
   
   

2. Score each piece:

   • Long side: at 4 1/5”

     
     
     
     

   • Short side: at 1/2” and 7”

     
     
     
     

3. Cut away the left and right side tabs at one end. On the remaining tabs, cut at an angle to make folding easier.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

4. Fold and glue to form each pocket.

    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

5. Stack them: glue the center square (top middle to halfway down) of the first pocket onto the second. Repeat until all 8 are glued together accordion-style.

   
   
   
   
   
   

   
   

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Assemble and Decorate

1. Pattern Paper Cuts for Decorating (all in inches):

Pattern Paper 1:

2 pcs — 2 1/4 x 6 3/4

1 pc — 3 3/4 x 6 3/4

1 pc — 4 3/4 x 6 3/4

Pattern Paper 2:

1 pc — 2 3/4 x 6 3/4

2. Glue these to the plain cardstock side of the box base (outside).

3. Punch 2 holes on the front flap and 2 on the cover flap to attach a latch lock with brads. Don’t have one? Ribbon works too!

4. Decorate the outer part with ephemera, flowers, stickers, and — in my case — a mini plastic spoon glued at the back for extra quirk!

5. Glue the last pocket to the back inside panel of the box.

6. Glue the front pocket to the front inside panel.

Add Tabs to the Pouches

7. Create the tabs by cutting 1 3/4” x 1” strips. Score each strip in half along the 1” side to make a fold.

8. Use a corner rounder on the folded edge for a cleaner, finished look.

9. Glue each tab to the center edge of each pouch — these will act as pull-tabs or dividers for your pocket sections.

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Fill It Up

Cut recipe cards (or journaling cards) to about 6 1/4 x 4 1/4 and slide them into the pouches. You can add as many as you’d like or mix in different sizes and textures!

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If you love the collection I used for this project, you can grab Kelly Bangs’ “Color Me Happy” collection from her website here!

Thanks for crafting with me! 💛

 You can find more of my projects and crafty chaos here:

Instagram: @my.cat.and.crafts

Facebook: My Cat and Crafts

Blog: mycatandcrafts.blogspot.com

If you end up making your own version of this accordion recipe box, don’t forget to tag me — I’d love to see your take and how you make it your own!

If you’re from the Philippines and would like to join our fun and creative swap club, come visit us at Craft, Create and Swap on Facebook and send us a message — we’d love to have you!

Want to challenge yourself weekly? Join Bee Happy PH Crafters Circle and take part in our Weekly Weeklies — it’s such a great community to grow your creativity and meet fellow crafters!

And if you love digital stamps and printable papers, don’t miss Polkadoodles’ Digi Choosday — a fun weekly “Anything Goes” challenge open to all styles and skill levels. Plus, there’s a special discount every Tuesday too!

Happy crafting! 🧡

XO, Ana