Look at these cute boxes! They were plain and boring but I'm determined to start working through my fabric stash this year and this is a great payoff for finally cutting into some of my precious fabric. My daughter uses our guest bathroom (which is very short on storage) and I desperately needed a way to keep the shelves looking orderly but still give her a place for her stuff.
Here's why it was worth the effort! Such a difference!
I bought three of the "before" boxes at Big Lots for 5.00 each. The are 7 inches deep which was just what I needed for the bathroom shelves I was sprucing up. They have a lot of bigger ones in this style and I saw a bunch at Michael's as well. But I'm going to show you how to cover the smaller box and if you get the bigger one's you can use the same method I'm explaining here just fine.
This box is actually made from two pieces. I didn't realize that until I got home and I wasn't happy trying to figure out how I was going to wrap the darn thing with fabric. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it allowed me the easy opportunity of using two fabrics once I separated the two elements that made the box.
So just take a razor knife and slide it between the box and the lid flap all the way around and they'll come apart. Be careful.
So now you'll have two pieces. The lid flap and the box.
To cover the lip flap just lay it down on the fabric you've chosen (this fabric will be on the top, back and bottom of the box when you're done). Cut around it leaving an extra 1/2" of fabric on each side for wrapping. If your box has a curved flap then snip some notches along the curve to reduce the bulk.
I used Scotch Super 77 for my spray adhesive. It was around 6.00 for the small can (but I had a good coupon!). It did a great job but I had to work quicker than I'm used to (it's much more aggressive than basting spray). For this part be sure to cover your work surface with some form of drop cloth since it gets very messy and sticky in the area where you're working. I used brown craft paper and it was perfect to used then toss.
Spray the wrong side of the fabric evenly. Lay your lid flap down on the fabric. Turn it over and smooth it out nicely on the right side of the lid flap. Lift the fabric and re-set it carefully if you have too. Now on the under-side wrap the edges over and smooth them in place. You can tuck the corners and be sure to cut the fabric around your velcro dot.
Now on to the box. Measure around the 3 exposed sides of the box and add 1 inch to that number. Measure the height and add an inch to that number as well. Now cut your rectangle of fabric out using those dimensions.
Lay your fabric on the box in place and draw a circle around the place where the velcro dot is. Cut the circle out.
Now spray the wrong side of the fabric evenly and, setting in on the front where the circle is first, smooth it into place all around. Tuck in into the inside corners and fold and tuck it around the bottom, corners, and the back.
Now use a glue gun to glue it back together. Glue it far enough from the edges so the glue can't be seen when it's assembled.
If you feel the need to keep going then use the adhesive spray to apply some pretty vintage trim down the middle and get some fun embellishments (buttons, numbers, handles, etc.) for the front. I bought these cute retro-locks at Michael's. They are designed by Tim Holtz and I think they add the final touch. I spray painted them with black "hammered metal" spray paint. I put a tiny piece of black fabric behind each lock because I didn't like the trim showing through the hole.
Anyway, there they are and I love them! They turned out much prettier than I'd anticipated and so I couldn't wait to share!
