Book page Mod Podge boxes for desk storage

For the shelf above my desk I've been using a whole row of black wire baskets, which look good when they're empty but when they are full to overflowing they just look messy and unkempt. So after I Mod Podged book pages on the little cubby shelf for my desktop I decided to make some storage boxes for my desk. Here's how they came out...

I like how the Mod Podge medium actually darkens the edges of the pages, giving them a golden hue. Here's what I did....

I picked out some good sturdy boxes in various sizes, including a round box that looked like an old ice cream carton. First I glued the pages on then finished with a layer of Mod Podge and matte spray sealer. Easy peasy and CHEAP too.

There is no set plan to this project, altho when my daughter, Insanely Creative Christy, decoupages with book pages she uses smaller, neater, well trimmed pieces applied in nice designs. Me? Not so much, lol!

I used a silver pencil to give the label frames a pewter looking finish then used chalkboard paint on the labels so I could change them up.

I'm still thinking about adding gold or copper brads to the labels to give them a vintage hardware look. But I like the way these boxes turned out and the cost was mere pennies.

Here they are on the shelf above my desk, and you can see how well they go with the little book page cubby shelf and even my burlap ruffled bulletin boards which I made to cover my ugly walls. So for a bit of effort and creativity but not alot of money, I'm getting a desk/office makeover that is making me very happy.

My next project is to repaint my chair and add a french country style burlap cushion. Watch for it!

I'll be posting at Thrifty Decor Chick's Organization blog party this week, plus the others listed on my sidebar. Come join us for some creative, inspiring fun!

So cool, Santa's Gift Shoppe has added this post to her featured posts over at her Blog Hop Party! She always has such interesting stuff going on, come on over and visit. Here's the link...
http://santasgiftshoppe.blogspot.com/2011/02/mailbox-updatemonday-blog-hop.html


What fun! I've been featured over at House of Hepworth's along with a few other really creative ladies. God check us out! Thank you, Allison, your parties are always so much fun. Here's the link. http://www.houseofhepworths.com/

Shelf Makeover with Old Book Pages

I've been admiring all the desk and office redos in blogland, so I started redoing my own "office" area with it's huge old steel desk and its big desktop. I already moved my printer to one corner and made two burlap ruffled ribbon boards for that corner, but I still had alot of room on my desk.

I found this nifty cubby shelf at a thrift store for $5 (yes!!) and although it was grubby and beat up, it's the perfect size for my desktop. I LOVE book page decoupage projects and knew just what I wanted to do with this little shelf.

I had a length of beautiful vintage wrapping paper, a bit wrinkled but still gorgeous. I just didn't have enough to do the whole shelf. So I decoupaged the back of each cubby with this pretty paper.
Then I finished the rest of the shelf with with Mod Podge and torn book pages from an old thesaurus. These pages have beautifully aged edges but were so brittle that they tore easily, so they were perfect for this project and I didn't feel bad tearing up the book!

I like it! I like it alot!

Ooh ahhh! I love the way the two types of paper look on this little cubby shelf!

Is there such thing as book page cubby shelf love? There is! This came out so well, I'm going to do one more book page project for my desk makeover. I love the way the old book pages look and I think they'd look great on a bunch of organizer boxes for my office area. That post is next! Oh, and how much is in "Ann's retirement fund"? I'll have you know that cup is half full of dimes, lol.

Joining the blog parties in my sidebar, yessirree bob. Come visit and see the neat things out in blogland. See you there!

Burlap Ruffled Bulletin Boards

Here are the finished bulletin boards...I like them alot! Read on to see where I started.

I've been seeing some gorgeous desk and office redos out in blogland and I knew I wanted to do something about my own desktop and office space but without spending any money, as usual. I have a massive steel desk with a large desktop surface, so first I moved my printer up top right next to my monitor and keyboard.

But ewww, look at those ugly walls! I definitely wanted something prettier and more practical, like a pair of bulletin/ribbon boards.

And look, another ugly picture of the project in progress. I padded two cardboard rectangles with a double layer of an old clean blanket for thickness and duct taped the whole shebang. It gets better after this, trust me.

I covered each padded form with natural osnaburg and added criss cross lace for a nice design touch. I love the subtle combo of the white lace and beige osnaburg, so pretty.

I crashed my stash of white buttons and hot glued a nice one to each lace junction. Pretty!

Then I added generous burlap ruffles to each ribbon board. LOVE the contrast of the rough, tan burlap against the lace, buttons and beige fabric!

Here is one board in place next to the printer. It already looks much better!

And here is how this corner of my desktop looks like now with both boards in place. Ah, much better! My glasses are sitting on a glass display plate stand which I've decoupaged with old book pages. The book pages make this old piece look like vintage bake lite plastic, I love it! In fact, I like the book page look so much, I decided to redo the rest of my desk space with old book pages. I'll be blogging about those projects very soon!

I'll be joining the parties on my sidebar this week, come visit and see all the wonderful creativity out in blogland!