Recycle a flat tissue box into the guitar's body. Paint it with white acrylic paint. The white primer will help hide the print and original colors of your recycled box.
2Paint the box.
Once the primer is dry, paint the box with your preferred colors of poster paint or acrylic paint. You can do a single color or make a multi-colored guitar.
3Create the neck and head.
Draw and cut the guitar's neck and head on poster board. The neck is just a long bar (mine is about 15" long and 2½" wide) and the head is a square on one end of the neck.
Draw vertical lines with crayons along the entire length of the neck to create the frets.
Punch 3 pairs of holes on the guitar's head. Keep the holes close to the middle of the head.
6Glue the neck to the body.
Glue the neck to the body with a strong glue such as tacky glue or hot glue. The bottom edge of the neck should be positioned just above the box's hole. Press on the joint for several seconds to glue in place.
7Create the bridge.
Cut a rectangular strip of colored paper or construction paper about 3" long and 1" wide. Glue this strip right below the box's hole. In a real guitar, this strip is called a bridge—it is where the strings are attached.
8Punch 6 holes.
Punch six holes along the length of the bridge.
9Place fasteners on the bridge.
Place a round head paper fastener through each hole on the bridge. Split the ends of the fasteners loosely at the back.
10Place fasteners on the head.
Similarly place round paper fasteners on each of the six holes on the head. Split the ends of each fastener loosely at the back.
Cut six strings. The strings should be 3 to 4 inches longer than the distance from the guitar's bridge to the head.
If you want a working guitar (one that can make some sound), use large rubber bands.
12Secure the 1st string on the bridge.
Wind one end of a string under the head of the leftmost fastener on the bridge. Make a knot to secure it in place.
13Secure the 1st string on the head.
Bring the opposite end of the string towards the lowest left fastener on the head, stretching the string taut as you wind the string under the head of the fastener. Tie a knot to fix it in place.
14Put all the strings in place.
Secure all the strings to the fasteners on the bridge and head following the placement shown in the photo.
15Decorate your guitar.
Decorate your guitar with stickers or you can draw some patterns and other designs on it.
16Add a strap.
If you want to make a guitar strap, cut a length of satin ribbon. Tape the strap at the back—one end on the neck and the other end on the body.
Use your box guitar as a cool prop for a rock star or musician costume.