Shoe Box Repurpose

I love re-purposing...or perhaps more than anything I love the idea of re-purposing!  I have a tendency to hang on to items that have potential...but don't always make it a point to actually do the re-purposing.  Consequently, most of the items on my to do list are re-purposing projects. Here is one of the quick and easy projects I tackled earlier this week :) 

I love boxes! All shapes...all sizes..they just make me happy!  I have been hanging on to several shoe boxes (once home to some very cute shoes I love!) to decorate and use as additional storage in my closet.  

I decided to go with a sophisticated black theme to spice up my otherwise boring closet.  I took a trip to my local craft store to pick up some scrapbook paper and get to decoupaging.  

As you would expect, very few supplies are needed.  All it takes is some boxes needing a new lease on life, modge podge, scrapbook paper and scissors.  

  

Once your supplies are gathered, begin cutting your paper to fit your box size.  I found it best to put the decoupage on the box and then carefully place the paper...making sure to smooth out any wrinkles.  Then quickly add a thin layer of modge podge over the paper and continue on.  

This project went off seamlessly...my only real frustration was figuring our what to do on the corners.  I couldn't decide whether to overlap on a couple edges...create corner pieces for each side...or have them meet at the point of each corner.  I went with the option to have the paper meet at the edge of each corner and added an extra layer of modge podge to make sure it remained together.  

**Note: I was so excited to see what they looked finished that I put the tops on before the boxes had dried overnight.  They stuck a little bit and ripped one of the corners when I took the top off the next morning :(  Fight your natural urge and make sure they are fully dried before you put the top on!

Here was the final result...I love them!  It makes organizing my closet a much more exciting prospect!

Apparently Ziva thinks cute boxes are more exciting to lay in then plain old shoe boxes!

You know a great thing about small projects...it motivates you to tackle the bigger ones!  On to the next item on my to do list...the ceiling fan!