Altered Storage Drawers ... Suitable for Storing Brads

Hi Everyone,

Another horrible, rainy, blowy day here in the West of Scotland - in fact the weekend weather has been pretty poor ... just the kind of weather to keep me holed up in the craft space.  So what to do on ... I was looking for something to do with the piece of gorgeous paper left over from Jovial Poinsettia card - posted here - when I remembered this sad looking little storage drawer set.

It's a remnant from my working days and now that I'm retired it no longer has to look so utilitarian, especially as the little drawers are just the ideal size for storing brads in. I'd been meaning to do something with it since I'd seen a similar makeover in issue 53 of the Scrapbook Magazine which took my fancy. Here's the end result.

My favourite colours are green and red, my all time favourite flowers are poppies ... and this makeover has all of these in spades. I didn't cover the drawer fronts because the EM, always so practical, pointed out that I wouldn't see the contents so would have to label them anyway ... and that would mean I couldn't change the contents at a future date. How can you argue with such good logic :)

For those of you who would like to know how I went about transforming this wee drawer set into what I think is a thing of beauty here is what I did in photos.

Left photo shows the box and some of the materials I intended using, the remains of the Basic Grey Jovial Shopkeeper paper (there's a 6" square chunk missing, not seen because it's hidden under the box), some gorgeous new Marianne vintage lace from Handy Hippo ... note to Jules: you're to blame, girl :) ... and my much treasured MS edge punch.

Centre photo shows the paper, measured and cut to size - the two larger ones for top and bottom and the two smaller for the sides.  The two pieces to the front, edge punched, are the corner pieces. I inked all the paper edges, with that muddy green colour from the Noel Adirondack pad I have now grown attached to, and left them to dry before adhering them to the box.

Right photo shows the box after the paper had been adhered to the sides and left to set.

Left photo illustrates that I scored the edge pieces on so that I had a nice crisp edge.

Centre photo shows the inked pieces drying out.

Right photo shows the corner - I chose to use the reverse side of the paper uppermost here. Almost done :)

Here is the box with all the embellishments in place. A poinsettia & leaves left over from Friday's Christmas card - some WOC poppies left over from a Remembrance tag made last year, and a couple of roses made with the smallest Marianne die and the last of the paper, the lace trim, some green leaf trim and satin ribbon, again leftovers from other projects.

The EM is feeling a bit off-colour today but when he is up and about again he is going to attach the box to the craft space wall - it has wee slots ready to slot down onto screws - and it will be off the workdesk, thus leaving more space to work in, but within easy reach. In the meantime it is sitting here on the table, in front of the computer, for me to enjoy - just love those flowers :) I should have taken a piccie of the minuscule scraps of paper that are all that's left from that gorgeous sheet of DP - I'm not sure I'll be able to squeeze a snippet make out of them but you never know ;)

I'm now casting my beady eye around looking for the next thing I can alter in some way - I think I've caught the bug.

Hope you are all having a rather better day weatherwise than we are here and that your weekend is proving to be a pleasant one whatever you've been doing.

Happy crafting to all,