homemaking hack: make your own cheap & beautiful storage solutions

I'm excited to show you another one of my favorite homemaking hacks today! :D 

Even though I'm probably the least organized person you know, for some reason, I really love pretty organizing tools {usually of the floral Target type}. And I really, really love pretty fabric covered boxes. :P Something about large, pretty boxes makes me feel extremely happy. :D

Luckily this one came free from Sam's Club:

It was a huge open paper box! The fabric is a drop cloth I painted in the pattern from Emily at Jones Design Company's famous stenciled wall. It started as a curtain and after two hours and two whole square feet of finished stencil, I gave up on that project and from that point it was designated as a small piece of decor fabric, which I then adhered to the box with this handy little product:

{this is the same stuff I use for my cheap Goodwill art!}

This is the box after years of using it... it's still in great shape! I usually have it holding extra items on top of my clothing armoire.

I love almost free storage!! :D

Here's how I did another free {with the diapers you buy} box with some fun fabric from Joann's. If I were really serious about the whole thing I could spray paint the box white beforehand, but I didn't care that much. And empty Luv's boxes are in good supply at our house these days.

I can't find the fabric anywhere online, but it's called "timeless florals" by Logantex. :) I estimated how much fabric I needed- a little over a yard to have no seams and cover the inside completely:

After cutting off the rest of the fabric, I left the whole yard uncut and started planning out how I would glue it on. When I found the perfect placement for covering the whole box, I sprayed the adhesive on the side and started gluing the smaller sides first- pulling them tightly over the sides:

I left the box flaps in for extra reinforcement.

You can cut the fabric to cover the flaps, but it's not necessary. I'm so not about perfection here! :D

I used the fold and tuck method for the corners to cover the excess:

 

Here's what it looks like from the side:

Tuck and spray and tighten smooth on all sides, and I was okay with imperfection inside too. I've left other boxes unlined and they look great, but I just loved this fabric so much I wanted to see it inside and out:

The spray adhesive is adjustable for a little while, so you can fix any mistakes you might make, and I'm happy to say it's held up very well on my other boxes. I didn't use as much since this time I had a brightly colored box, and the more glue, the more you could see the Luvs. :) I used a tiny piece of fabric to cover the Luv's on the right side, and had I used a white or spray-painted box, I would have been adhesive happy all over. :)

You could totally use a glue gun also, but I didn't want to see the glue lines and you have to be really good to just get it tight once. The spray adhesive is your friend in this project. :D

I won't lie- this orange little pop of color makes me feel happy! :D

It could have so many uses- on a shelf, under a table, holding games, dishes, or even diapers ;)...

It's definitely not perfect up close, but I think that makes it even more fun to have around. You could never tell from under a table or in the pantry that it was a Luv's box. And hey, you could never find a cheery, one of a kind box like that at Target! ;)

What's your favorite thrifty or creative way to have open storage? :)

Ever used spray adhesive? Do you love as much as I do?