Crafts, Beading, Decorating Jars and Boxes

@capirani (2840)
United States
December 15, 2023 8:39pm CST
Why spend money buying those plastic totes when you can create your own nifty totes for basically nothing? I have so many art supplies and those plastic totes are costly. But I get bunches of cardboard boxes for free. The best ones are any kind that have handles, and/or lids. I use what a lot of mixed media artists call "painty papers" that I make myself out of old newspapers and other papers, and my acrylic paints, stamps, stencils, etc. Once dry, they can be torn or cut up to glue onto the boxes, along with any other kinds of paper you want to add, such as construction paper, book pages, music sheets, magazine pictures, etc. Cover the boxes all around the sides, and if there is a full lid, cover that too. Once it dries, cover with at least one coat of Mod Podge, matte or gloss, your choice. You can add glitter, and other things to the box while the Mod Podge is still wet. Once fully dry, you can do another coat if you want to. Every coat will make your box stronger. There you have it. Your only expense is your time and paint. Your tote is unique. No one else has one quite like it. I will be using mine for art supply storage, finished craft projects for next year's craft fairs, and hopefully as moving boxes when I eventually get to move to a better location for me and my art studio. What kinds of projects are you working on?
4 people like this
4 responses
• Cloverdale, Indiana
16 Dec
Sounds pretty cool, I don't do any crafts anymore cause it takes up so much space so I gave it up to raise fish to sell.
2 people like this
@dya80dya (36636)
16 Dec
I am not working on any projects.
1 person likes this
@jstory07 (139590)
• Roseburg, Oregon
16 Dec
I just finished making all of my Christmas cards and mailed them a week ago. Today I passed out all the ones that I did not want to mail .
1 person likes this
• United States
16 Dec
I design and make teddy bears. I am kind of lazy and use zip loc bags, the plastic handle bags or prescription bottles for holding craft supplies or cut out bears. I also will use the plastic containers from various food stuffs like cool whip, butter, etc. I do have a few of the lock lid boxes for things like pins and stuff as I have cats and they like to rearrange things to satisfy them and I am not a big fan of picking up pins off the floor. The prescription bottles are super, especially after you peel the labels off them (when they're empty). They're great for thread (I poke a hole in the top and thread the thread through the top and pull the thread through when I need a new length. It's great also for needles and pins when you take a project on the go. The quart zipper bags are great for the tiny bears (or projects) and you go up in size to the 2.5 gallon for the big projects like needle point etc. and you don't have to worry about it getting dirty.
1 person likes this