DIY Cardboard Barrel Prop

Get ready to elevate your Oktoberfest photo booth!

With a few simple materials and some creativity, you can craft a barrel out of a cardboard box, tape, and paint – adding an authentic touch to your festivities.

PROJECT APPROXIMATIONS
TIME: 6 hours 😬 (longer than I was expecting)
PURCHASES: $0 (could be up to $30)

SUPPLIES

+ Cardboard box (I used a box that was 32″ wide by 16″ high and 16″ deep)
+ Cardboard (a little larger than the diameter of your finished barrel)
+ 1 sheet white or gray poster board
+ Large metal ruler
+ Utility knife
+ Masking tape
+ Duct tape
+ Paint (I used silver, brown, black, burnt umber, yellow ochre, orange, gold, and light blue)
+ Paint brushes

Stave: narrow strip of wood placed edge to edge to form a barrel

HOW TO

1. OPEN BOX

Open the box so it lays flat.

2. CREATE FAUX STAVES

Using a metal edge, cut from the top to the bottom of the box. Don’t cut entirely through the cardboard; only cut about half way through. Repeat every 2-4″ inches along entire box. I chose to make the staves about 2″ wide simply because that was the width of the ruler.

To make the barrel curve slightly towards the middle at the top and bottom, the staves need to be tapered. The length of the tapered sections will vary depending on the size of your box. The box I used was prefolded 7″ from the top and bottom, so that’s the length I used. I created a wedge shaped template to cut along for the taper. I soon tossed the template, though, and just eye-balled where to cut the lines – which is likely why my finished barrel has some extra character. If you prefer a more symmetrical barrel, create a template and trace it onto the cardboard, then use your metal edge to cut the lines.

3. SHAPING THE BARREL

Roll the cardboard into the barrel shape and tape the side edges together.

Push the tapered pieces slightly towards the middle. Hold the cardboard together with masking tape on the inside of the barrel. Repeat this process with the other end.

4. MAKING THE TOP

Measure the diameter of the open area at the top of your barrel. On a piece of cardboard, draw a circle the size you just measured. Make 2″ wide tabs around the circle. Using the utility knife, cut out the circle with the tabs. Fold the tabs.

Place the cardboard top onto the barrel, placing the tabs inside the staves.

Flip the barrel over and tape the tabs to the staves. Once you get the desired shape, reinforce the tapered pieces and tabs with duct tape.

For the bottom of the barrel, simply reinforce the staves with duct tape. Since this is a prop, there’s no need to create a cardboard bottom – unless you want to.

5. PAINT THE BARREL

Paint the barrel primarily in browns. To make it seem weathered, add pops of color sporadically .

6. FINISH TOP & BOTTOM EDGES

To create a finished look, add duct tape along the top and bottom edges. Even with the wrinkles, it looks better with the duct tape than without.

7. ATTACH RINGS

Using poster board, cut strips 1″ wide. Tape the strips together to make one strip long enough to reach entirely around the barrel. If the poster board is white, paint it silver. If the poster board is gray you get to skip the painting step.

Repeat for the second ring.

Tape the rings in place, one near the top and one near the bottom of the barrel, ideally where the tapered sections begin.

8. ENJOY!

⬇ Coordinates with this photo prop set ⬇

Oktoberfest Photo Props

$7.75

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