Tissue Box and Baby wipe storage.

I was sitting at my desk one day and had a tissue box sitting there and decided to see if I could make some type of storage for the tissue box.  This is what I came up with.

When I created it, my initial intention was to  use the drawer to hold a mini album.  Then I decided I would either use it for my baby wipes or for those little things that end up on my desk that just get in the way.  After posting pictures on Facebook, I had quite a few people ask for a tutorial. I have made another one and will do a basic tutorial for this project.  You may need some basic understanding of on chipboard construction.

Materials:  Medium weight chipboard 5 or 6 sheets, adhesive, I used both the Scotch quick dry and double sided tape (Score tape/Scrappy Tape/Miracle tape) and paper to decorate if desired

 

Cutting;

Chipboard

:

Front/back  - 9 1/2" x 6" cut 2

Sides - 5 1/2" x 6" cut 2

Top/Bottom - 10 3/8" x 6 3/8" cut 3

Base - 9 1/2" x 5 1/2" cut 1

Drawer front - 8 3/4"x 3 1/4"  cut 1

Drawer sides - 5 3/8" x 2 5/8" cut 2

Drawer sides - 8 1/4" x 2 5/8" cut 2

Bottom Drawer - 5 3/8" x 8 1/4" cut 1

Ledge - 3" x 5 1/2" cut 2

Shelf for tissue box - 5 1/2" x 9 3/8" cut 1

Lid lip - 9 1/4" x 1/2" cut 2

Lid lip - 5 1/4" x 1/2" cut 2

Frame - 4" x 4"

 

Cardstock Construction Strips

2 sheets 12 x 12 cut into 1"x12" strips, scored at 1/2" and adhesive applied.

 

Construction strips are used to put the project together.  I find it is easier to use a double sided adhesive and not a wet glue.  You can use a wet glue, just ensure it is fairly quick drying.   Still cut construction strips but add your wet adhesive as you use the strips.  I have never done it that way, it just seams like it would be a little messy.

 

Here is a construction strip, before I have added the adhesive.  Below is an after shot.

Here are my construction strips after adding adhesive.  Ensure you do not cover the score line.

 

I begin construction of the box by first cutting the opening in the front for the drawer.  My drawer opening is 8"x 3". If centered correctly you will end up with 1/2" from each edge.

Now I am ready to assemble.   I first need to add a ledge for the tissue box shelf to sit on for security.  I attach the 3 x 5 1/2  ledges to each of the sides.  I used wet glue for this.

 

I then began constructing the box. I used the construction strips to attach the front and the back to the sides.  I cut 4 strips to the height of my box.  I attach the strip from the back of the chipboard piece and set the next piece vertical to the front/back to ensure proper spacing. Once the piece is set in vertically, bring the construction strip to it.  It is ok if it fall down once attached.  It will all come back together when all sides are attached.

Do this same thing to the sides/back and front.  Pieces should be attached in the following order:  front - side - back - side

Before finishing the square, add some wet glue to the grooves in the construction strips.  Then add the front to the final side to close up box.

 

Then complete the square. Sorry did not get a picture of completed square. Please understand that by connecting the front/back and sides you complete a square.  You will then attach construction strips to the base.  I sometimes cut construction strips ends cut at 45 degree angle.  It just reduces some of the bulk.

Here is a picture of the base with construction strips added.

Please notice that construction strips are only added around 3 sides of the base.  The fourth side is where the opening of the drawer is located.  I cut a 1/2"  piece of construction  strip on the left and right side of the base where it will attached to the front of the box.

Once you complete the base of the box, take time now to burnish all the construction strips with a bone folder.  This will ensure proper adhesion.

It is now time to assemble the drawer. It is done the same as the main box.  Here is a picture of the completed square of the drawer.  Notice wet glue was added to the seams again for added strength.

 

You will then add construction strips to the drawer bottom:

 

You simply do the same as above, set the drawer on the base of the drawer and  bring construction strips up to the sides.

 

You can then add construction strips to the tissue box shelf.

You will then add a bead of glue to the tissue box shelf ledges that are attached to the sides

Then attach shelf.

Sorry these are kind of out of order.  But will not have an impact on the final project.

Now lets work on the lid. I used two layers for the lid.  One has a 1 1/2" square hole cut out of it so that you can get the tissue out of the box.  I Cut a 2 1/2" square out of the second lid, and then glued the two lids together with the smaller hole on the bottom to give it this look:

I also added a 4 " square frame to the top of the decorated box.  The four inch square has a three inch square cut out of it to create a frame (frame is totally optional.).  You can take time now to cover the box with paper. To cut the holes in the lids, just find the centers and cut the different size holes. You do not have to have a double layer lid, I just liked the look.

 

The holes cut  out and stacked.  You can cover both the lids and then glue them together.

This is how it looks from the inside.  Ignore the lip for now. Notice I cut an "X" in the hole and then pulled the paper to the inside/bottom of the lid.

 

Cover your drawer front.  Add adhesive to the drawer and place it in the slot for proper placement.

 

 

Then position your drawer front.  Pull drawer out and ensure properly secured.

 

We now need to work on the lip of the lid to keep the lid from slipping off.  In this case instead of using regular construction strips, I cut 3 strips of paper 1/2" to connect the lid lip pieces to each other and then used construction strips to attach the lip to the lid.

I still attached to chipboard pieces to each other the same way, using the 1/2 inch strips as the connection base.

Then add the construction strips to the lip after you have formed the square, just like above.

 

Now you can attach it to the lid, ensure it is center.

Then cover the inside with paper if desired.

 

 

To finish add a knob or some type of drawer pull. 

I have not completed the frame on this project yet.  But that is the completed box.  If you don't understand any of the instructions please leave me a message. 

 

Mini mini Album

Below is a mini album I created using five #10 envelopes.  Love the way it came out.  It is only about 4"x 4 1/4, but has lots of real estate for pictures. 

The paper I used was a Prima 6"x6" stack.  It was actually some leftover paper from a smaller mini I had done.  I was trying to use it all up and I did.  Only thing left is some really small scraps and a couple of tags from the paper and I will probably add that just to get rid of it and to not have to throw it away.  I kept the embellishments to a minimun so that I could focus on the paper.  The roses are both from Prima, as is the pearl bling.  The frame is something I have had forever and have no idea where it came from, maybe the dollar store,   the black on the edge is some  ribbon roses that you get by the yard at Hobby Lobby.  The hard plastic roses came with the pearls.

Haven't done anything with the inside cover, but feel I need to do something, that is probably where some of the left over tags will go.  The right side is a mat and a half.  I used two different Martha Stewart punches to dress up the edges of the mats.

This is still page one, The tab thing in middle of the page actually lifts up and the tags come out.  The flap just fits inside a slot at the bottom of the page.  Love how the band looks like a cigar band.  I had to do a lot of piecing together, since I was using left over paper.

Pages 2 & 3.  Kept them pretty simple, both pages have double mat for a photo.  And all pages have a pull out mat. You may not be able to tell from the picture, but page 2 is actually larger than page 3.  On the larger pages I used a black photo mat, and on the smaller pages I used the peach photo mat with a different edged puch. 

Pages 4&5.  Pretty simply, a little of piecing to be able to cover the pages.  The flap is magnetized and hides a photo mat.  The brackets are fussy cut from the paper.  I have had those round paper clips for a long time and decided I need to start using what I already have.

Page 6&7.  There is a band across the photo mat, which allows a picture to slip behind it.  There is also another photo mat behind the peach mat.  Page 6 is the photo mat and a half..

This is the page 7 photo mat and a half folded out.  There is one of those small Paper Studio paper bags there, mostly hidden by the matting, but it also has a photo mat inside.  I like how the angled pocket came out on page 6.  Added a couple of fussy cuts and glossed them up.

Pages 8 & 9.  Page 8 is accordian folded.  Page 9 is large pocket to hold another photo mat, along with fussy cut butterfly with only its body attached to paper.

Not a great picture of the accordian fold, but it will basically hold 9 pictures.

Page 10&11.  Kept it simple, but the left side has a kind of gate fold feature.

A picture of the gatefold opened up.

Pge 12 & 13.  Started running out of paper, so used some black paper and embossed it.  Attached corners will allow for a large matted picture to be placed on these two pages.

Page 13, the mat and a half.  Simple, but love how it came out.  Just glued the top and bottom of a piece of scrap and placed it over some of the embossed paper and stuck a couple of tags behind it.

Page 14 & 15.  Pocket on page 14 and a photo mat on page 15.

Page 16&17.  Kept it simple.  Used some of the leftover pearls to go around the mat on p17.  A little fussy cut on page 16.

Page 18.  A waterfall.

The waterfall is magnetized.  Ended up using two sets of magnet, one near the top and one near the bottom, so it would lay flat. 

As I mentioned earlier, there is a lot of real estate in this mini.  Now I need to print some pictures for it.

Graphic 45

Oh My Goodness, I am so wanting the new Graphic 45  Mother Goose Collection.  When is CHA and when will that paper be released. 

Home!

I am finally home for a couple of weeks.  As you know, I spent a weekend in North Carolina visiting with my Grandmother, my brother and new sister-in-law, with my sister and other family members..  That was a whirlwind trip, I drove there on Thursday and returned home on Monday.  Then on Wednesday, June 26, 2013, I took some of my youth to South Carolina for the SEJ BMCR Youth Harambee 2013 at Claflin University.  What an amazing trip.  We were all revived.  I wish I could get more of our youth to attend this annual event.  I, and the other youth that attended, are looking forward to Harambee 2014.  My sons are also interested in being a part of their Youth Leadership Team, God is so Awesome.  We returned home on Sunday evening and of course I returned back to work on Monday. 

Soooooo....It is back to the grind again today.  Hope to have some crafting time this week.   Realizing first that the Fourth of July is on Thursday, and my sons will turn 17 on Friday.  WOW, where have the years gone.  It seems like yesterday when we were bringing them home from the hospital. 

More to come.   

A New Epiphany!

I was in Hobby Lobby yesterday and had an epiphany.   It is probably about time that I had it.  I was looking at some new magazines and noticed the magazine about hobby spaces.  I realized that my crafting space does not have to stay perfectly clean.  I bet you are saying, "WOW, you are  just realizing that?"  I spend a lot of time organizing, like a lot of crafters do.  The most important thing about your crafting space is that it works for you.  I craft alone when I am at home.  I find myself organizing a lot, so I can easily find things.  The secret to this is label label label.  If it is labeled, then it is easier to find. 

Now that I have had this epiphany, I can get busy crafting.  I do know that I HAVE to clear my desktop after each project, because I am a messy crafter.  I will be putting my scrapbooking on the back burner for a little bit, to allow for some sewing time.  The nice thing is since  my scrapbooking has taken over my craft room, I now sew in the guest room.  OK, what used to be the guest room.  It no longer has a bed in it.  I will be cleaning it out this weekend, because my husband tends to just throw stuff in it when he doesn't know where it belongs.  I hope to get a couple of expedits from IKEA next month to go in there...yeah.

Well enough about my epiphany.  Have a great day.  Happy Crafting.

Birdhouses

My new thing is birdhouses.  I am loving Laura Denison's birdhouses.  I am also doing some experimenting of my own and making some 3-d projects.  More info coming soon.  Here are some of  my works in progress.

This is the first completed birdhouse.  The sides of the roof lift up to reveal the mini album inside.

This is the mini that goes inside.  The mini is complete.  For some reason, I could not get all the pictures to rotate correctly.  I will try again another day.

I love the idea of using the plastic sheeting from the bling to create a pocket. 

Trying to use my edge punches more.  Cute tags and the mini birdcage is a prima embellishment.

Fussy cut the leaf from the paper and used a simple tag with the We R Memory Keepers corner punch.

Had some spare paper and fussy cut it and made some extra tags.  I like how the tag opper came out.

Loved the mini bags from Hobby Lobby.  Paper Studio has definitely stepped up their game.

Embossed these tags with Tim Holtz embossing folder.

Can you believe that I actually stamped.  Yeah for me.  It is a Tim Holtz stamp.

Anothe of those mini envelopes with some fussy cuttings. Small tag on front and another tag in envelope.

Simple page, fussy cut flower to hold tag.

Love the simplicity of the punch on the page.

A little fancier page.  Love the zipper look.  Tag is embossed.

 

This is a peek at the gazebo birdhouse.  Hopefully, I can get back to my room to get it finished.  The mini is almost done, but I have a lot of decorating to do to the gazebo itself.

 

This is the third one.  I like the simplicity of it.  The whole top comes off to reveal a mini, I think.  It is meant to have individual tags/pages, but I think I am going to put a regular mini in it.

 

Whirlwind Trip

I took a long weekend to go see my Grandmother.  It was her church's Friends and Family Day.  I took the time to go also, because my brother and his new wife were going to be in attendance.  It was a great weekend.  Tiring, but great.  My friend from church Rebecca went with me.  I am so appreciative of her riding with me, because my kids had basketball games, they did not want to miss.

This is my 96 year old Grandmother.  Yes, she has a cane, but she does not use it.  She takes it so my aunt doesn't fuss.  She swings the cane. LOL.  She still cooks all her own meals and does her own laundry.  She is an amazing woman.  She had more than 200 grandchildren, great grandchildren, great great grandchildren, and great, great great grandchildren.   There are at least 5 generations of us walking around because of this amazing woman.   

This is my brother, Oscar.  It has been several years since we have been able to get together.  I am so happy that we both made the trip to Mesic, NC this past weekend.  He is older and I do like to rub it in.  He is only 11 months older, but every little bit helps.  LOL

This is my new sister-in-law, Lorraine.  Love her.  My brother and she dated over 30 years ago, and found each other again and are now married.  Young love.  Love the newlyweds.

This is my NC family.  My sister, her husband, my brother and his wife, my nieces and great nieces.  It was really nice seeing them all.   I must confess, normally when I go to NC, I spend all my time with my grandmother and don't take time to see my other kinfolk.  I must do better.  I really enjoyed them all.  Wish I had more time to spend with them.

For some reason, I really love this picture.  Maybe because Tiere is in it.  That is my great nephew on the end.  He has been really good at keeping in touch with me.   Thanks Nephew.  Love you.