My family and friends tease me a bit about my obsession with recycling.
I just can’t stand to throw a plastic bottle, anything glass, and especially cardboard in the trash. I have this compulsion to either let it pile up in my recycling closet until I have time to haul it off or to find some way to repurpose the items into reusable and purposeful home decor.
Recently, one such item I let pile up was the Barkbox™ cardboard boxes from our monthly subscription for our dogs. These are great sturdy boxes with lids and I just had to make something useful with them. So I came up with a way to make them pretty and useful as fabric-covered storage boxes for my craft room.
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My craft room is always a work in process. Every time I attempt to clean it up, it doesn’t last more than the chaos of the next project on my list.
I am always trying to figure out storage, and storage options, or trying to finish up a project so it can be moved out of the space.
This room includes a full wall of built-in shelving which is fabulous for organizing so much of my random craft supplies. I do have the problem though of not having enough containers for all of my stash. I didn’t want to buy any more plastic containers and instead came up with a very budget-friendly way of adding some storage – and color – to that side of the room.
Fabric Covered Storage Boxes
For this project you will need:
- A small cardboard box
- Scissors
- Spray Adhesive
- Fabric squares or Fat Quarters
- Hot glue gun
- Glue Sticks
- Decorative ribbons and trims as needed
I didn’t need to search long for several boxes around my house because each month I receive the perfect-sized storage box in the mail from Bark Box – an online toy and dog treat subscription for my dogs. T
hey don’t pay me to advertise their product, but let me just tell you my dogs know exactly what is in THAT box when I bring it in the house. They love it!
For months I have been letting the boxes pile up not only because they are good sturdy boxes and I hated to recycle them, but I have had this idea in the back of my mind for some time.
The next thing I needed was adorable fabric in the same colors as the tops of the plastic containers I already owned and in colors that matched the storage bags hanging on the wall above my work table.
I actually found exactly what I was looking for in the fabric department at Walmart – yes Walmart. I wasn’t even shopping for fabric but saw these 20″ x 20″ Waverly fat quarters on an end-cap and thought they just might work.
For only $.97 cents each they were a great option to try out.
This is a creative way to recycle and reuse cardboard boxes.
Imagine how excited I was to find out the fabric swatches fix the boxes perfectly!
My boxes are 7 1/2″ wide x 11 1/4″ long x 5″ high. Not very big boxes but the right size to fit on my shelves. I removed the top of each box because I wanted open tops for my fabric-covered storage boxes.
After ironing each fat quarter to remove the folds, it was easy to attach the fabric to each box using spray adhesive and a glue gun. I laid the box in the center of the fabric and made four cuts around the edges to make the fabric fold.
The next step will be to spray the outside of the box with the adhesive and fold in the two ends pieces over the side of the box, smoothing out any wrinkles in the fabric. Then fold the longer pieces over the two smaller side pieces to cover up the outside of the box.
This is a great project is use quilting fat quarters or leftover fabric.
The fat quarter was a little taller than the height of the box so I trimmed off the excess. Since I planned to wrap some white cotton fabric inside the box, trimming off the excess fabric made sense.
I could have purchased white color fat quarters for the inside of the box – or any other coordinating color – but I knew I already had a few yards of white cotton fabric in my craft fabric stash so decided to use that instead.
I could have also just used another matching piece of 20″ x 20″ fabric from the fat quarters I purchased. Whatever you want to use for the inside is fine. Burlap is another option for the inside of the box.
After several attempts at attaching the fabric to the inside of the box, and some frustrations and failures, I finally found what seems to work the best for me.
First, I cut a piece of cotton fabric to the size of the bottom of the box and secured it with spray adhesive.
Next, I measured and cut a long length of fabric the same length as all four sides of the inside of the box. With two sides at 7 1/2″ and two at 11 1/4″ I cut the fabric at 36″ with a height of 8″ to make an overlapping cuff on the top of the box. To make it very easy to attach to the inside of the box, I rolled the length of the fabric in a tube and just rolled it around the inside of the box sprayed with adhesive.
Fabric-covered storage boxes are pretty and functional.
Making decorative storage boxes is a great way to recycle cardboard boxes.
The inside fabric doesn’t fit tight and smooth but with things stored in it you really won’t see the inside much anyway. You need the extra length and give in the fabric to be able to fold it over the top of the box. I tucked the fabric around the top edge to make a cuff and secured it with hot glue.
At this point, I could have called this project done. But I wanted to hide the outside seams on the cuff so I dug around in my craft stash for some decorative trim to fancy up the boxes a bit. Or, as I mentioned earlier, I used the excess trim that I cut off the fabric to make some creative flower petals.
I am thrilled with the pop of color on the shelves and the extra storage I now have in my craft room.
One of the best parts, I get one of these boxes every month on the 15th so I can continue to make more decorative storage boxes as I need them. In all, I have less than $2.00 in each fabric-covered box and they are unique and one of a kind to match the decor of my craft room.
Update! My craft room went through a new update and style and you can see the new look of the room in this post: Newly Organized and Updated Craft Room
“Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights; with Him there is no variation” James 1:17
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Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I’ve truly enjoyed surfing around your blog posts.
In any case I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope
you write again soon!
I think if you would put the sides in first then put the bottom in it would look more finished
This is great! I keep saying I need to make my baskets and bins look nicer. #HomeMattersParty
I’m always looking for inexpensive storage ideas & these boxes are just great! Wonderful upcycle! #homemattersparty
Thanks Michelle
Such a great upcycle project for organizing the supplies. #HomeMattersParty
Those are really beautiful Boxes and I love the materials and colors you used! I am so jealous of the beautiful fabrics everyone manages to find! LOL ! I do not have a fabric store where I live! Gorgeous Boxes! Thanks for sharing! #HomeMattersParty
Jeannee
Thanks Jeannee. That is so sad about the lack of a fabric store. You can try fabric.com for some options. Hope that helps.
What a pretty way to upcycle your cardboard boxes. I love the sturdy kind like the ones you are using. #HomeMattersParty
Yes, you would definitely want a strong sturdy box if it is going to be used for storage. Thanks for stopping by.
I love the colours you have used Donna and I need to make some of these boxes
Thanks Amber. I already have two more of the Barkbox shipments at my house so I need to continue this project too.
These are super cute! I love repurposing items, but mine have never looked this good. Really awesome idea.
Thanks Pamela.
These are really wonderful. You could use the same method to cover various unmatched bins you may have as well. I especially like how you added cute little embellishments. The embellishments made all the difference. Love this project. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Leanna. I’m trying to clean out some old craft supplies so the little embellishments were a needed accessory.
The boxes are so pretty. I like how you can customze them to match the decor.
Thanks for stopping by Debra
These are so cute!
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Thanks Jess
I’ve been making these for years but never quite got the insides right. Now when you add the inside piece and fold over it looks very nice and the addition of the bows makes it look so professional.
Thanks Mary. I plan to try more techniques out as I make more boxes.
These are beautiful – I would be honored if you shared them on the Pleasures of the NW’s DIY link up!
http://www.pleasuresofthenw.com/diy-crafty-link-up-46/
Thanks for the invite Helen. I will check it out.
Thanks so much for joining our party!