Wanna See My Box? ;)

Well...it's really quite a few boxes, and they're all mine!

I'm cheap. Heh. "Provident" ;), so what's a provident girl to do when she wants to accessorize and organize her frugal craft room?

WHIP OUT THE GLUE GUN! Woot-Woot!

As you know, I previously purchased a bunch of fabric, specifically to use in the room. I've been inspired this past week, and I'm FINALLY getting some projects done! Ok, so here's the first one. Before...a plain old run of the mill paper box.

I guess I should probably show you the reason I'm doing the boxes, huh? So...I can't stand clutter. I don't get twitchy about it or anything, but I definitely "feel" better/calmer when things are in order. Can I tell you how much MORE it's pissing me off that I can't get this stupid picture below to center, than the actual clutter IN the picture?? ARRRGGHHH! I give up. :(

Alrighty then. Take a look at the first picture again. I have the paper box sitting on a strip of fabric. I could have done this as a covered basket kind of thing, but the purpose behind it is to cover stuff up, not so the inside can be seen. Got it? So add into that I get to get more pretty containers out of less fabric, it's a win for me. Ok, so tutorial time. It's really not hard. Cut the fabric about three inches wider than your container. The length is kind of up to you. I knew this was going to go against a wall, so I didn't cover the back of the box. I didn't use the glue gun on anything but the edges. I glued the two edges (with the big white expanse) first. Then I started on the bottom. Just fold the corners carefully. 

Speaking of careful...I burned the crap out of my finger because I wasn't paying attention and I put my finger right IN the hot glue. Grrrr. It blistered, and hurt like a bitch! Be careful with your glue gun. You could probably use something other than a hot glue gun to achieve the same effect. I thought about using double stick tape, but I didn't have any.

Doesn't that look nice? Flip the box over, and repeat the process. And we're on to the top. Pay no attention to my disgusting mattress. It's actually moved down into the basement as of yesterday. I'm super overdue for a new mattress. I won't even tell you how old this one is. But, my bed is kind of the only place I have on the second floor of my house to use as a cutting space. Again, you want to give yourself extra fabric so you have something to glue.

  

This is just like wrapping a present box top. I'm just using hot glue instead of tape, and fabric instead of paper. I've shown the before and after pictures to several people, and they asked if it was paper or fabric. I wish I could find pretty paper. It would probably be cheaper than the fabric. I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

    

And here's the finished product. I think it's pretty. What about you?

  

I liked it so much, I did it again! I used the same fabric for the top. It's the one fabric I found at the store that was the "right" color to accent with. Here's the plain old pattern box before I worked my magic on it. I've had this almost since I bought my house 10 years ago. Doesn't really fit the "pretty" room I'm trying to create. And shhhhh...I don't keep patterns in it. I know! I'm such a rebel. I've got my cross stitch stuff in it.

And here it is after! This was actually all I had of this black and white pattern. I was happy to find the perfect use for it. The teal is the same as the top of the other box.

  

I feel the need to re-use things when I can. I have had this sewing box since...oh...middle school...I won't tell you when that was ;) and it's served me well, but it looks kinda dated, dontcha think?

Not any more! The ribbon before, it was wrapped in cardboard. I didn't actually figure that out, until I went to take it off. I just used the scissors and cut the open spaces, and pulled them out one by one. Re-weaving it was a bit more of a challenge to get the new fabric in. I first sewed the scrap pieces together (we're doing this on a budget, remember?) to the approximate length I needed. Then I folded the edges over, and sewed them into place, and made the ribbon the size I needed. I was looking for a safety pin to try to use that as a needle to help me weave the ribbon through. I decided I would use a piece of tape on the end instead. The safety pin would have been too big to pull through the corners. The tape gave a nice stiff surface to get the end through, then I just pulled the rest of the ribbon.

In these pictures below, you can see how I pieced the fabric scraps together to make the top. I sort of wanted a quilted feel, and really, not many people are going to see the top...we'll...in person. All my adoring blog fans are seeing it now, aren't they? :/   :) In the picture above you can see the tacks that keep the trim on? I gently pulled them off, and tucked the fabric in before I tapped them back into place.

  

All of that for this final reveal! And crap!! The picture isn't in focus. You get the idea.  I think it's a lot more pleasing to the eye, then having my crochet stuff (That's what that entire shelf is dedicated to. Maybe I'll do a  future blog on how I have my crafts organized by type.)

So, what do you think?