Easy Earring Holder

     Looking for a way to store your earrings?  This earring holder is easy to make and inexpensive.  It's also a good way to reuse a cardboard box you in all likelihood already have on hand.  The lid of the box can be used for storing lots of stud earrings, while the inside of the box can hold larger earrings or other jewelry items.

Materials:

*Cardboard box with lid (whether the lid is a flap closure or a detachable lid)
*Thumbtack
*Optional: paint or other decorating supplies

Directions:

*Punch holes in the lid of the cardboard box using a thumbtack.  Make sure that the holes are spaced far enough apart that your earrings can fit side by side.

*Optional: you can paint or decorate the box if you'd like.  My box was already a nice shade of blue, so I decided to leave it as it was.

*Arrange your stud earrings in the holes on the lid.  Place longer earrings or other jewelry items inside the box.

Also, if you haven't seen it already, my first Hey, Day video went live today on YouTube.  If you want to follow that series, you may want to either follow my Facebook page, where I will be posting about it, or my YouTube channel.  Also, if people would be interested, I could do an end of the week round up post containing all the Hey, Day videos from the week, but I don't want to overwhelm you with content if that's not what you're interested in.  I've included the first video in the series below, in case you wanted to check it out.

Mason Jar Pencil Holder

     Okay, so I don't know if this technically counts as a Mason jar.  It's a Zhena's tea jar, but you could craft a similar container from a Mason jar, albeit without the nice little pencil sharpener attachment (which is where the tea's wooden measuring spoon was stored).  That loop where I have my pencil sharpener also works well as a space to set the colored pencil you're working with if you want to put it down for a second.

Materials:
*Zhena's tea jar (or other glass jar)
*Jump ring
*Pencil sharpener with loop at the end
*Two pairs of pliers

Directions:
*Open up the jump ring and loop it through both the loop on the tea container and the loop on the pencil sharpener.  Close the jump ring.
*Add some pencils.  That's it!

Creative Storage Solutions

     The beginning of a new year is a great time to take stock of what you have and get your house in order.  Here are some clever ways to clean up the clutter.

Shoe Organizer Makeup Storage

     Shoe organizers aren't just for shoes.  Use them to store makeup, hair accessories, socks and slippers, and any number of other items.

Jewelry Box Nail Polish Storage

     Jewelry boxes can be a good place to store nail polish and nail art tools.

Food Container Office Supply Storage

     You may already have seen my posts on organizers made from aluminum cans, ice cream tubs, pickle jars, and oatmeal tubs.  Here are some other food containers you can use to organize your space.

     This office supply container is an Andes Mint container I decorated with SpongeBob duct tape.

     Use the bottom of an empty cardboard soda 12 pack to hold colored pencils, rulers, or other supplies.  You could decorate it if you'd like, but no decorating is necessary.

Floss Organizer Perler Bead Storage

     Floss organizers are the perfect size for storing separate colors of Perler beads.  I like using the big compartments on the end for holding yet unsorted colors.

"I Think I Might Like You More than I Like Zombies" Valentine's Box

Materials:
*Heart shaped box
*White paint
*Paintbrush
*Mod Podge
*Red, pink, and white tissue paper
*Scissors
*Colored pencils
*Glitter glue
*Black permanent marker
*Zombie owl template
*Colored pencils

Directions:
*Paint the box white and set aside to dry.
*Cut out squares of the various colors of tissue paper.  Once the paint has dried, glue the squares to the box using Mod Podge and then set aside to dry.
*Once the box has dried, paint with a coat of glitter glue and then set aside to dry.
*Resize the below owl template to the desired size and print out.

*Color in the owl the desired colors.
*Once the box is dry, glue down the owl and write in the phrase "I think I might like you more than I like zombies" on the box.

Colorful Cat (or Other Animal) Storage Jars

Materials:
*Empty jars (e.g. pickle jars)
*Plastic animals
*White acrylic paint
*Acrylic paint in colors of your choice
*Paintbrush
*Hot glue gun

Directions:
*Carefully glue plastic animals to the lids of the jars using your hot glue gun.
*Paint the lids and the attached animals white, then let dry.  Depending on the color of your animals, you may need to use multiple coats.
*Once dry, paint the lids in colors of your choice.

Tip: For a smoother, more even paint job, you may want to try using spray on paint instead.

Stylish Storage Containers II

Need some ideas for creative storage containers?  Here are a couple new ones and if you're still looking for more ideas, see my original post last fall, Stylish Storage Containers, which contains five more ideas.

Duct Tape Oatmeal Canister



 

     I needed a container to store my duct tape in and realized that an oatmeal canister would be the perfect size. When figuring out how I wanted to decorate my container, I figured that nothing could be more appropriate for this canister than duct tape. 

Materials:
*Empty oatmeal canister
*Duct tape in various colors and patterns
*Permanent markers
*Scissors

Directions:
*Wrap five pieces of duct tape of varying colors and/or patterns around the canister.
*For the lid, cut out a little rectangle of duct tape.  Place it on the lid so that the bottom corners of the tape are touching the edge of the lid.
*Cut out another rectangle of duct tape and place it so that one corner touches the lid in the same spot as one of the corners of the first piece of duct tape and the other corner touches another part of the lid.
*Repeat the procedure until the entire lid has been covered.
*Add a piece of patterned duct tape or some other adornment to the center of the canister to cover up any gaps in duct tape.
*Use a permanent marker to conceal gaps in the duct tape around the edge of the lid.

Geometric Holographic Pen Bucket

 

     I've always been fond of holographic paper.  These days it reminds me of the Give Yourself Goosebumps books that I adored when I was a child.  When I found holographic paper at my local JoAnn Fabrics store, I knew that I wanted to incorporate it into my crafting.  Here's my second craft project using holographic paper:

Materials:
*Empty, clean ice cream container
*Five sheets of 8 1/2 x 11 self-adhesive holographic paper in varying colors and patterns
*Scissors

Directions:
*Cut three strips from each paper about 8 1/2" in length and 1" wide.
*Cut these strips into triangles.
*Adhere the triangles to the container in a pattern you find pleasing.

Cardboard Box Organizer

I enjoy scrapbooking, but I have never really had anywhere to store my scrapbooking supplies.  I tried stowing most of the stickers, full sized pages, scraps of paper, etc. inside one large box, but could never find anything because it was completely disorganized.  I also had a number of smaller boxes, packs of paper, and other items that I stored separately, which made it quite a chore to gather together all of my scrapbooking supplies.  It finally got to a point where I had to do something about it, so I grabbed a large cardboard box and made my own organizer.

What's inside the box:

*Clear storage bags
*The white ribbon is a pulley system to make it easier for me to lift my paper out of the box
*A smaller, decorative box to hold other small items (see this earlier post for ideas on how to decorate cardboard boxes)

Materials:
*Appropriately sized cardboard box
*Plastic bags

Additionally, if you want a lever system:
*Sturdy ribbon or string
*Cardboard
*Scissors
*All purpose adhesive
*Decorative tools to embellish the box (optional)

Directions:
*Separate the items you would like to store in your organizer into categories.  For me, I divided my supplies into stickers, frames and templates, and paper scraps.  Put items intp clear plastic bags.  The bags I used were bags that my curtains came in, but ziplock bags should work as well
*For a lever system like what I have for my paper, cut a piece of cardboard slightly larger than the items you would like to have lifted by the pulley
*Slide a piece of ribbon under the cardboard and place the cardboard inside the cardboard box.  Adjust the length of ribbon until it is long enough to comfortably pull out of the box
*Slide a piece of ribbon under the cardboard going the other way and repeat the prevoius step
*Find the center of each strip of ribbon and glue the centers together so that the ribbons form a plus sign
*Let dry, then place the ribbon in the cardboard box.  Put the piece of cardboard on top of the ribbon, then place the items you would like to lift on top of the cardboard

Stylish Storage Containers

     It seems as though I am in constant need of storage containers and storage containers, especially nice looking ones, can cost a fortune in stores.  Because of this, I have become very resourceful when determining what counts as a storage container, finding uses for shoe boxes, plastic ice cream tubs, plastic sour cream cartons, etc.  However, some of these makeshift storage containers can be a bit of an eyesore on their own, so I decided to decorate some of the boxes.  Here are three examples of how you can turn ordinary containers into stylish storage boxes.

Fabric Covered Box

Materials:

*Shoe box

*Fabric to cover the outside of the box (separate pieces needed for the base of the box and the lid of the box)

*Optional: fabric to cover the inside of the box

*Ribbon to decorate the edges

*Adhesive (e.g. hot glue, glues that specify that they will work on fabric)

*Pen

Directions:

*Lay fabric for the outside of the box on a flat surface, with the side you want visible facing the ground. 

*Place the box in the center of the fabric and trace around the bottom of the box. 

*Then trace each of the four sides of the box extending from the base like this:

*Extend the length of the side pieces by half an inch. 

*Follow the same procedure for the lid of the box.  If you are planning on covering the inside of the box, follow the same procedure as for the outside of the box, except don’t extend the length of the fabric on the sides; instead you should diminish the length of the fabric by a quarter of an inch or less. 

*Cut out the fabric for the outside of the box. 

*Adhere the bottom of your box to the center of the outside fabric piece, then adhere each side of the fabric to the corresponding side of the box.  Set the box aside to dry. 

*Follow the same procedure for the lid of the box, then set the lid aside to dry.  If you are planning on lining the inside of the box, carefully glue the central part of the inside fabric to the bottom of the box, then affix the fabric to each of the sides.  Follow the same procedure for the lid.  Set aside to dry. 

*If you want to, you can trim the sides of the box with ribbon.

Photo Montage Storage Container

Materials:

*Shoe box or other storage container

*Pictures (can be photographs, drawings, magazine images, etc.)

*Mod Podge

*Paintbrush

*Optional: decorative trimming such as ribbon, lace, beads, etc

Directions:
*Use Mod Podge or other adhesive to stick pictures to the box’s exterior and lid in a manner that you find visually appealing. 

*Decorate box with trimmings, if you so choose

*Once you have adhered all of the pictures and trimming to the box and the lid, brush a thin coat of Mod Podge evenly across the surface of the box and the lid.  Let dry.

*Once the first coat has dried, apply a second coat, then let dry.

*Finally, apply a third coat of Mod Podge.  Let dry.

Rounded Storage Container

Materials:

*Round container (I used a plastic ice cream tub)

*2 sheets of 12x12 patterned paper (may need a different size of paper if your container is significantly bigger or smaller than the one I used)

*2 different kinds of ribbon

*Metallic permanent marker

*Ruler

*Pen

*Scissors

*Mod Podge

*Paintbrush

Directions:

*Measure the height of your container.  If parts of your container jut out more than others, measure from the bottom of the container to the bottom of the part that sticks out. 

*From one of your sheets of patterned paper, cut out two strips that are the same height as your container

*Starting from the center of your first strip of paper, line paper up with the bottom of the ridge that sticks out and adhere the paper to your container.  If your container is not perfectly cylindrical, you will notice that as you move father from the center, your paper will no longer line up with the bottom of the part that sticks out.  That’s okay.  Just keep gluing until you have glued down the whole strip of paper.

*Follow the same procedure for the second strip.

*Once you have adhered both strips of paper to your container, cut off any excess paper that hangs over the bottom of your container. 

*Using the remainder of the paper you cut the strips from, cut out rectangular pieces that will cover up any vertical gaps (i.e. if the two strips of paper did not overlap completely) between the paper and the container.

*Using your paintbrush, coat the paper with a thin layer of Mod Podge, then let dry.  You may wish to apply a second coat after the first has dried.

*Use ribbon to cover up any horizontal gaps (gaps between the bottom of the part that sticks out and the paper)

*Cover the part of the container that sticks out with ribbon or fabric.

*For the lid of the container, cut out a circular piece of paper from your second sheet of patterned paper that will cover the top of the lid.

*Adhere paper to the lid, then coat with a thin layer of Mod Podge and let dry.  You may wish to apply a second coat of Mod Podge after the first has dried.

*Decorate the rim of the lid using the permanent marker.  If the rim has writing or some sort of decoration, you may have to go over the rim with the permanent marker a couple of times to cover up the writing or decoration.

These are just a few possible ideas that you could do, but there are so many more.  Feel free to share your creations with me in the comments section of this post or email them to me at hathaway.amber@gmail.com.  I would love to see them :)

Update (October 2011): here is my most recent decorated storage container, which I made for my campus's Take Back the Night event.  My boyfriend coated the box in purple duct tabe, then I decorated it with tissue paper hearts, glitter, ribbon, wrapping paper, and metallic markers

Another update (July 16, 2012): Here is my latest decorated storage container.  I scraped the label off this plastic ice cream container, then painted it with glitter glue.  To achieve the ombré effect, I painted the entire container with a coat of glitter glue, then, after the first layer dried I painted another coat starting about 1/3 of the way down the container.  Finally, after the second layer dried, I painted a third coat starting about 2/3 of the way down the container.  For the lid, when I scraped off the label I ended up with some white scraps that I thought looked neat, so I just painted over the whole lid using a thick, uneven layer of glitter glue.