Cereal Box Organizer

This is my take on something I saw on Pinterest. I wish I could visit the site so I can give credit to the person who posted this originally, but it comes from an invite-only blog. Thank you schneiderbucket.blogspot.com.




Inspiration from  schneiderbucket.blogspot.com


I wanted something to sit on my desk that was a little bigger so I used two cereal boxes; a 14oz. Cheerios and a 12oz. Honey Oats...




I started by flattening them out to make it easier to cut using a cutter as opposed to scissors. I wanted a nice straight edge.

I cut off the lid and about a 1/4 inch more on the larger cereal box.



 Cut the smaller box into two smaller boxes by cutting a 4inch section. This will give you about 7 inches for the second box. 
In this picture you can see that I cut off the lid, but don't do that. I wasn't sure where I was going when I did that.





Re-glue the bottom of your two larger boxes and the top of your smaller box. The top of the smallest box will be the bottom from now on. 



Tape the bottoms for reinforcement using a strong tape. I used painter's tape because it holds up really well, and if you need to lift it up, it doesn't ruin what you're working on.



Use hot glue between the boxes and again reinforce using tape. I taped the bottom...



And the top of the smallest box. Now you're done with the box.

 Decorating is a personal preference. I used 12x12 scrapbook paper, scraps that were left over from another project and some ribbon for the dollar bin at Joann's. However, I think If I do this again, I might use wrapping paper, or craft paper, because I ran out of the 12x12 really quick.

I did cut a 1/4 in. off the tallest box in the front with a little angle. It was an after thought, and I added the ribbon to hide the imperfections in my new design.



I'm not sure if you can tell, but I ran out of the zebra print, so I just started patchng up the holes with other scraps here and there.



Have fun with this project.

Turn old t-shirts into shopping bags in four steps!

I was on a website called Instructables and found a tutorial for upcycled t-shirts that I had to share. Take your old t-shirts that you can't get rid of for sentimental reasons and turn it into a shopping bag. Of course I tried it and it was another easy project.

The tutorial is self explanatory. But I did make a few changes to suit my needs. First, my t-shirt already had cap sleeves, so i didn't follow the instruction to cut off the sleeves. I cut the neck hole wider and less deep than the pic in the tutorial so that my picture didn't get cut off. And I added bias tape to make the mouth a little sturdier.

I couldn't throw away this t-shirt because it was given to me by a student.

To make it a little stronger, I added bias tape to the mouth of my new bag.



Extra wide double fold worked with the overall look of my tshirt.



All done and ready for shopping!

Upcycled Office Chair

So I heard somewhere that it was super easy to reupholster an office chair. I had my doubts but here is the proof that it is, in fact, VERY easy!



I started with a chair exactly like this! Eww!



And ended up with this! Yay!

Time to start...

• You will need a fabric made for upholstery. (Found mine at Joann's)
• Spray Glue (I used Aleene's Crystal Clear Tacky Spray) There are fabric glues out there, but I didn't have any on hand and I didn't feel like driving back to Joann's
• Staple gun and 3/8" staples (recommended by guy at Home Depot)
• Screwdriver
• Another person with strength will be very helpful!
  

  

  Glue that I had on hand :) Seemed to work just fine

  
  

  

  Love the black and white! Hope I don't spill coffee on it!

  

Let the fun begin! Turn your chair over and unscrew the bottom and back of the chair from the base. Mine only had four screws and a large knob on the back. Make sure you know where all the screws will go so you don't have issues later!



Sorry for the bad picture! 4 screws only! So easy!

 Now the part when I needed that extra muscle... Remove the plastic backing from the chair pads. The plastic backing is pressed on only not screwed on, so it really just requires a little muscle!Removing the backing from the bottom of my chair was easy, but the backing for the chair back required two people. My assistant (mom) held the pad, while I yanked and pulled on the plastic. at one point I  had to use a flat head screw driver to try and pry it off. I was sure I was going to break it, but I didn't! 


Once the backing is off, you'll see that the original cloth is only stapled on and that's exactly what you are going to do. Measure out your fabric. I cut mine very generously, but in hindsight, I probably didn't have to waste so much. If the cloth has a pattern, make sure you center the pattern before you cut.


Spray the glue directly onto the original fabric and lay your new pretty fabric on top, adjusting for the pattern. The glue is to make sure you get the indent of the original pad, not so much for sticking the cloth down to the pad. However I did notice that the glue helped keep the cloth in place when I was stapling.


Now, turn it over and start stapling. You need to make little gathers on the curves of the pad. Make sure to press the stapler tight against the chair. I didn't always remember and so the staples didn't always take.  Make sure the fabric stays smooth on the pad side.

Once your finished stapling, cut the fabric so that none of the holes for the plastic backing or the screws are covered.

Cut around all the holes.

Voila!!





 I hope you guys liked my first tutorial. I hope to post many more! Happy upholstering!

My First Post

Hello all!

So I have decided to share my craftiness with the world maily because so many others have inspired me through their blogs and websites, that I feel now is my turn to return the favor! Thanks to all those crafty people out there who have taught me so much. Hope you find some inspiration in what I have to share.