Talk about turning trash into treasure!

Japanese cardboard artist Monomi Ohno, 28, is turning one of the world’s most ubiquitous objects into art by using old Amazon boxes to create magnificent and intricate “sculptures.”

Trained in 3D animation at the Osaka School of Arts from 2010-2014, she now lives in Tokyo where she has a studio full of amazing objects she’s created over the years.

She began making art out of cardboard in 2011 when she couldn’t afford more expensive materials and had to find something cheap and easy to access to complete her school projects.

While Amazon doesn’t release the exact number of boxes they use to ship goods every year, but some have estimated that they ship 608 billion packages across the globe each year – and we know most of those are cardboard boxes. While smaller mailing envelopes are being used more often (and Amazon certainly isn’t the only culprit in the destruction of trees for making shipping boxes!), we know we’re just about at the bursting point in terms of how many used boxes the Earth can hold since many don’t get recycled.

That’s why we’re on board with anything that keeps them out of landfills, but especially creative endeavors!

Ohno does more than simply cut and bend little (or big) pieces of cardboard. She builds highly detailed sculptures out of intricately cut pieces in order to make everything from spaceships to sneakers. This upcycled art not only reuses materials that might otherwise end up in the trash, but it requires relatively few tools – just a pair of scissors, a box cutter, a ruler, glue, and some masking tape.

Her vision and delicate technique give the artist the ability to achieve various textures and patterns.

Just take a looks at this Millennium Falcon – it’s incredible!

And mechanical Godzilla? We’re stunned by the details on the cardboard studs alone.

Her Instagram account is full of more close-up photos of these “sculptures.”

If that’s not enough to blow you away (and get you to appreciate Ohno’s love of geek culture), just take one look at this full-sized Delorean from Back to the Future:

Yes, it’s parked in a garage!

She even provided a close-up of what’s “under the hood.”

Here’s what it looks like to work on the engine of this cardboard masterpiece:

Not into tech?

How about a full-sized saxophone replica?

Of course, not everything is big and bold, sometimes the small pieces can be just as dramatic.

Take, for example, this slightly-larger-than-life Oreo cookie (with a bite taken out, of course, for good measure):

An X-acto knife helps provide some of the “carving” detail you see in pieces like this big Casio watch.

But just take a closer look if you want to appreciate how much of it requires precise cutting and “sculpting” of the cardboard to make this piece come together.

Vehicles and machines seem to be Ohno’s favorite inspirations.

We’re loving how the natural wave of the cardboard serves as the perfect stand-in for a tank’s caterpillar tracks.

And almost 5 weeks ago now, she helped celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo landing by recreating the Apollo 11 Lunar Module “Eagle” in a hand-sized version.

Check out all the tight rolling required to get those cylindrical parts into the correct shape:

Ohno has been a cardboard artist since her early college years and has been creating these fantastic pieces for 8 years now.

And the best part is that she’s still keenly aware of cardboard’s biggest fans. She even supervised a book project on cardboard projects for cats!

We love watching talented people pursue creative artistic careers.

Cheers to Monami Ohno and her delicate yet amazingly cool creations!

Be sure to check out her Instagram account here!

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Source: @monamincb via Instagram,
h/t Bored Panda