Spice Rack From Cardboard

My spices were taking over the counter in the kitchen, so I decided to make a spice rack using some things I had laying around.

You will need the following supplies.

Cardboard boxes or just large pieces of cardboard that can be made into boxes
Utility Knife
Marker
Ruler
Tacky Glue
Envelope (for measuring around the corner easy)
Gaff Tape or another kind of tape you can paint over (this is purely cosmetic and could be skipped)
Paint (I used acrylic metallic black)
Washers and Screws (for mounting)
Optional:
Polyurethane (It would hold up longer)
Matching spice jars (this would make it look nicer, but not necessary)

First you need to get out your spice jars and figure out how tall you want your shelves. I did not leave enough room for my shelf support layer that I added and a few of my shelves were tight, so keep that in mind when measuring.
Also, if you intend to use cardboard piece to hold the jars on the shelf, you will need more room at the top. I used tie line which was able to be stretched to get the jars on the shelf. However a piece of cardboard cut about 1/2 inch wide and long enough to glue to the inside sides, could also be used, but since this won't stretch you will need extra room to get the jar on and off the shelf.

Now it's time to make some shelves for your jars to sit on.
First take another box and cut in half and fold flat. You may need several boxes depending on the shelves you need.
I used an envelope to make marking around the corner easier, you can also use a ruler.
Score the outside back of the box so that it will be a little smaller than the original box was. This is so the shelf will fit inside the main box. I made three shelves, two for regular size jars and one for the smaller spice jars.
Fold on the new score line and place the shelves in the main box to check for fit.
Trim the front facing edges if necessary.

Now cut some support shelf pieces that go all the way across. These should be nice clean pieces as they will be on top. Cut some smaller pieces as needed to help keep the shelf level. They will be filler for the area where the tabs are.
Glue all the layers together making sure small tabs are in the middle and the clean shelf is on the top then clamp to dry. I just used some office clips, as the tacky glue dries pretty fast.

Cut sections of tie line that are long enough to go around the box, leaving enough room to make a double fisherman's knot. If you don't know how to make this knot, just do a search, there are a lot of video's on how to make this knot and it's a pretty easy one. It will allow you to tighten the line as it becomes slack over time. I left about two inches between the two knots.
Seal the ends of the tie line with a lighter to prevent fraying.
Prepare your box for the line by cutting a small notch at the height you want the line to sit. This will keep it from sliding out of position.

If you do not want to use tie line you can cut pieces of cardboard that are long enough to go across and fold to the inside back. I would say about 1/2 inch wide. Keep in mind this method would not be flexible and you would need more headroom to get the jars in and out of the rack.

For this step I added some Gaffers tape to the front edges of the box. I did this so it would be a cleaner look, but it is not a necessary step.
After taping the box edges and making sure it is nice and even, it is time to paint your shelf.
I painted two coats of acrylic metallic paint. You could use spray paint too.
A coat of poly would make this hold up longer, but I did not bother.

Once dry add all you tie line and you are ready to mount it to your wall and fill it up with all those spices.

I mounted mine with 1/2 inch washers and screws that I just screwed into the cardboard on all the inside corners. The washers protect the cardboard so your screw does not just go right through it. I was mounting on to solid wood so I did not need drywall anchors. If you are mounting into drywall I would add anchors.

Enjoy!