By Judi Kauffman
Want to do some re-purposing and up-cycling? Today’s tutorial demonstrates how to use Shimmer Sheetz to give scraps of wood and clear plastic boxes a new life as ‘Desk Décor’! The boxes came with spray mists, the beaded trim was once a belt, the vintage flower was a brooch I wore on a winter coat.
The Wood Block Tool Holders and Plastic Box Pencil and Pen Palace would make a fun holiday gifts. Both are easy and fast to make; switch the color combination to suit the style of the recipients. And don’t forget to make a sparkly little treat or two for yourself while you’re at it!
Instructions:
WOOD BLOCK TOOL HOLDERS
Step 1 – Cut wood scraps to desired size. Shown: 4.5” x 2.25” x 1”.
Step 2 – Bore five or more half-inch deep 3/8” diameter holes in two offset rows. (A neighbor did this for me.) Optional, not shown: Instead of holes, use hardware store items – glue half-inch stacks of washers or nuts. Tip: It’s tempting to want more than five holes, but it’s easier to remove and replace items if they are spaced as shown. If you want more holes, go for a longer block of wood.
Step 3 – Base coat the wood with black paint or black gesso. Optional: Dry brush the top of the block with metallic paint.
Step 4 – Arrange and adhere pieces of sanded, alcohol ink-altered or embossed Shimmer Sheetz, decorating the sides of the blocks or the sides as well as the top.
Step 5 – Keep going: Use alcohol inks to tie the colors together.
PLASTIC BOX PENCIL AND PEN PALACE
Step 1 – Cut off the tops of 9 plastic boxes. Boxes shown measure 1.5” x 1.5” x 4″. Keep the foam piece that came in the bottom of each box or cut one to fit. This helps keep pencils, pens or other items from being damaged.
Step 2 – Use pieces of Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape to hold the sides of the boxes together. Tip: Use 4 boxes in two rows for a container with a smaller footprint, 16 or 20 in four or five rows of four boxes for a larger one. The key is to have a stable base to ensure that the container won’t topple when filled.A single row might work with boxes measuring 4” x 4” but would not work with the boxes I saved.
Step 3 – Use more of the same tape to secure pieces of embossed and lightly sanded Shimmer Sheetz around the outside. The size of the plastic boxes will determine how much Shimmer Sheetz is needed and where to position and overlap the pieces.
Step 4 – To further secure the container, adhere a piece of trim as shown (or a woven ribbon band). Accent with a vintage flower brooch or other embellishment.
Supplies:
Elizabeth Craft Designs:
Embossing folders of choice
Sanding block
Black gesso
Emperor’s Gold Dazzling Metallics Paint (DecoArt)
Wide paintbrush
Blocks of wood
Empty plastic boxes
Scissors to cut plastic boxes (Fiskars Mixed Media Shears)
Alcohol inks in assorted colors, including black
Ink applicator tool
Beaded trim or woven ribbon
Vintage flower brooch or other embellishment
Xtreme Adhesive Tabs (Tombow) to secure the trim and flower
These are such wonderful and clever ideas!