Monday, April 18, 2011

Organization?!

So, I'm not so hot at the whole organization thing. I'm slightly too right brained. I do try though. And, to be fair, I know where everything is. Just my system makes no sense to anyone else in their right mind. I'm okay with this.
Nonetheless: I had no place for mail. Which meant I lost things. Which meant I annoyed the hubs. Change had to be made. And because the mail sorters I like are expensive and I am poor, I decided to make one.
And I had to buy NOTHING. You heard that right. This project was FAH-REE!
(Note: It's only free if you are me and hoard things that go on sale at Hobby Lobby because you get a discount. It might cost you like... $3. Still a good deal though.)

How to make a Mail Sorter
(To make your husband less mad at you)

You will need all this stuff:
Scrapbook paper, Modpodge, glue gun, shoe box, scissors. Optional: Fabric.

Cut your shoebox (I started with the lid, you don't have to) like so:

Measure it to the size of an envelope.
Draw a line where the edge was:

Glue:

And there you go.

Repeat with the shoebox.
Podge paper all over that sucker. I did alternating strips of black and white paper. Don't measure, just wrap the excess underneath the box. I added a cute paper flower to the lid. Tutorial here.

Sorry, I didn't take good pictures of this part. I was in the zone. Using another shoebox or some other form of cardboard (in my case, a pizza box), measure and cut dividers that fit inside the box. I decided to cover the inside of my box in contrasting jersey fabric I had leftover from some hair flowers. Yes, you can podge fabric. Just like you do paper. Why did I use fabric? Because it was there and I didn't have enough blue paper. And I liked the blue.

I added a blue strip of paper across the top of my box to finish of the edge (the edges weren't pretty). I also added the word "Mail" to the outside. I did that by cutting strips of paper and curling them just like you would ribbon, forming letters with a few pieces, and gluing them in place. Tedious? Yes. Super cool and totally worth it? Indeed.

I wasn't smart, and my lid didn't fit on my box when I was done. But I actually liked them stacked way better, so it worked out. Let your box dry, and there you go! Beautiful!
I added a little ceramic bird I had laying around. Because I like birds.

If you have a free Saturday afternoon, I would definitely tell you to make one. I love projects you can finish in less than a couple hours! Instant gratification.
What do you think??

1 comment:

  1. i think it looks awesome! you are so creative, girl!

    p.s. i love the curly letters - so cute!

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