old cheese box – new “dress up” box

I have a thing for boxes.  Like a really bad thing for boxes.  Really, any containers.  I can stand in a store staring at a box for ten minutes trying to justify buying it.  It’s bad.  And sometimes I just want them for what they are.  But sometimes, I want to make them into something different.  For instance, an awesome large, round cheesebox.  The kind you get from some really fancy cheese place.  (Like Scardello’s in Dallas-where this one came from…don’t even get me started on cheese right now.)

So I ended up with this great cheese box from an office Christmas gift.  I had no idea what I would do with it.  It sat around for quite some time and then I decided to paint it.  I painted it an antique white, and then painted some “tole-fashioned” roses on the lid.  I didn’t like it.  And it actually sat out in the garage for months, because I was disgusted with the fact that I couldn’t figure out what to do with it.  Then I thought – decoupage.  (What probably happened was, I saw something on Pinterest about Mod Podge.)  I had previously seen a cute idea about a “dress up” box and thought of my granddaughter.  At the time she was less than a year old, but she was definitely going to need a “dress up” box!  So off I went to the fabric store, and found some fabrics in coordinating colors.  And I have to give credit where it’s due—my husband found this fabulous trim that matched the fabric perfectly!

Now, I’m not a great sewer.  Er, seamstress.  I can sew curtains (straight lines) all day.  And pillows.  I can make pillows.  But this was no project I could imagine using my less than glamorous sewing skills on.  So Mod Podge it was.  I measured twice, cut once, and figured out what areas needed to go down first so that I wouldn’t have a bunch of frayed edged material showing.  I did get the iron out and crease edges.  Anyone who uses decoupage knows that if you use your hands it’s messy.  But this is exactly what you have to do in this case so that you can feel that you’re getting the material down smoothly and firmly.  This box took a couple of yards of each material and some batting for the lid (another good “grandpa” idea).  It took me two days of coming back to it as I wanted areas to dry completely before working on new ones.  And oh that trim!  Its so wonderful! 

I gave the box to my granddaughter on her first birthday, and she loved it.  I filled it with hats, scarves, gloves and other accessories.  At the time it was the perfect height for her to sit on too!  I hope she gets many years of use out of it.  Maybe it will turn into a keepsake box, or something cool like that.

~alice

And oh yeah, later, with some of the leftover material, I did make a pillow.  I made this whimsical owl.  Of course I gave it to my granddaughter!