Sunday, September 12, 2010

Cheap chic organizer boxes for my craft room



Here is one of the 3 counters in my studio. It looks pretty good in this photo because I was cleaning it up and trying to get better organized in there. When I'm working on a project I usually trash the joint, so this is looking acceptable.

I have alot of stuff crammed into my studio. ALOT. I love the multi drawer units for all my small stuff and I've never met a glass jar that I couldn't use for lace, buttons, flowers, ribbons... the list is endless. I also have five bookcases full of fabric, I kid you not. But for the in between stuff I made do for a long time with an assortment of mismatched dollar store baskets, priority mail cardboard boxes, shoe boxes and what have you. I can store alot of stuff that way, but my craft space wasn't looking too pretty or organized. And I wasn't going to spend a bundle on matching containers!

So with all the Mod Podge projects blazing their way thru blogland these days, I knew I could make a big difference in there.



Here's a sturdy box with a lid flap that will fit excellently on my high shelves. I sat down with a cup of coffee, an ancient and dilapidated paperback thesaurus and some music on the CD player and a while later I had this.....




I know, it's a painful sight. But this old tired thesaurus was in such bad shape that the pages tore even when you just opened the book. At least I gave those pages new life with this project! Soon, I had this....






LOL! I guess the paper was flying every which way because at the end of the day I had 18 boxes that look like THIS....







I made some labels from card stock and chalkboard paint and there ya go, changeable labels on my super cheap organizer boxes.


Ahhhh, much better! I have more storage than I can shake a stick at now and the boxes look good and make me smile. The Mod Podge actually brought out the golden hues of the paper edges really well, so they look all mellow and vintage. I like that alot!

I even added a book page panel to the right hand space on my waterbed headboard that I use as a wall display unit. I just Mod Podged the pages to a piece of foam board and voila, a coordinated background to go behind some of my stuff.

AND, that project for my studio led to this project for my Etsy shop. I thought with a little more effort and some finishing details like muslin liners and better labels, these would be a nice addition to my store. Take a look....

And then, because the look of the vintage book pages was just too compelling, I did this....
I like it. I like it alot! It looks like old bakelite and it really disguised the flaws in this old glass piece. Now I'm wondering what else I can do with old book pages....hey, that old shelf is looking kind of shabby......

I'll be linking up to the fun parties on my sidebar this week. Come join me there!

29 comments:

  1. Oh my! What an excellent makeover! Love what you have done with both the large boxes and the little ones with liners. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great Ideas, and even better, great execution!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome job! I'd have never thought of something so cool as that! Your room looks so neat with them all the same style like that. And...I LOVE your laces in the jars! I'm a jar-a-holic too with never enough large jars for the pretties!!
    Blessings!
    Doni

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello! I am visiting over from Cecily's Craftopotamus. You did such a wonderful job with everything! I especially liked the creativity of papering the cake pedestal. Very original!
    Best regards,
    Gloria

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is so cute! Ireally like that fact taht even thogu heverything is different sizes they all tie together!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, I am SO loving those boxes and that cake stand looks FABULOUS!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love your boxes. What a great and inexpensive idea! I think I might have to make some of my own. I hope you can stop over to my blog for my Show Off Sunday Party. I would love for you to show off these great boxes to my followers.

    http://houseofthriftydecor.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  8. All of them turned out just beautiful! I love the final look =) What a creative idea!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love it! What a great idea. I love that the book design works with some many different decors.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great job on those boxes and jealous of your studio! It looks fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow Wow Wow!!! I love them. I love all of them.

    thanks for linking to Transform Tuesday!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love using modpodge.. your boxes look great, especially the ones with the liners. Too cute!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wish I could get organized -looks wonderful@

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks for stopping by my Show Off Sunday Party. I look forward to seeing you next Sunday!!

    http://houseofthriftydecor.blogspot.com/2010/09/show-off-sunday-party.html

    ReplyDelete
  15. I know what you mean by trashing up the place! But that's PROCESS right? Your boxes and other collage look fabulous! What a fun white post!

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a great way to reuse old, tired book pages. I love everything you created!

    Thanks for linking to my party. I would love to have you join me for one, or all three, of my parties each week.

    Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage
    http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  17. I LOVE this! They all turned out so cool! And cute! :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh, wow! I really, really love what you did with the vintage book pages! One of my favorite things to do is decoupage using the old book pages. I would have never thought of covering the boxes like that. I also really love how you added the chalkboard labels, perfect! And the cloche with the decoupaged stand is just too adorable! Thanks so much for the inspiration!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love them! They turned out fabulous! And I do really love the small ones. :) Great job! Thanks for linking up on Paisley Passions!
    Following along!
    Have a great day! :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. I just LOVE organizing stuff and this is a great way that you did it creatively! Great job!

    Becky B.
    www.organizingmadefun.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  21. What great ideas ! And you are so organized

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thanks SO much for joining in on Thrilling Thursdays @ Paisley Passions. I hope to see you again this week :)
    ~Lori S.
    Thrilling Thursdays @Paisley Passions

    ReplyDelete
  23. This is a great project! So great, that I featured you on my blog! Come by and grab a button to add to your collection. ;) Have a great day!
    Meg
    alittleknickknack.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. Congrats on being featured! Great project.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Love love LOVE it! The aged paper mod podge is gorgeous! It looks terrific. Thanks for linking up to Topsy Turvy Tuesday's!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Thanks for your comment on my blog, you have some amazing projects that you've done! I LOVE your halloween decor!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Great job! can you come over? I have lots of projects for you...LOL
    I remember decoupaging a lamp 20 years ago and it took a month to dry. Not so with Mod Podge? Curious!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Wow, these cheap storage boxes are looking awesome. Thank you for sharing this amazing post with us.

    ReplyDelete

I love your comments and read every one. They let me know if I'm on a good track with my blog. Thanks for stopping by!

Book Page Christmas DIY

Most of you have figured out I am a color freak with an obsession  for turquoise, red and cobalt blue.  However, I also obsess about ...