Does anybody remember the show “Decorating Cents” on HGTV? I always liked that one. And I’d justify my TV time by folding laundry while I watched it. One of my favorite segments of the show was when they’d visit some antique/junk store in Minneapolis and show how they turned “trash” into “treasure.” Of course this appeals to me; I think it’s an inherited trait — my grandpa is a self-styled dumpster diver and is always finding new uses for old things. I’ve already shown you my tin-can lanterns and wine rack. I’ve also been known to make wrapping paper from meticulously flattened Hershey Kiss wrappers (just to wrap a cd; I don’t hate myself enough to make a whole roll of the stuff). I’m all about using what’s on hand! Which brings us to today’s project.
My kids have been acquiring coloring books like crazy lately and we’ve been running out of places to keep them. Time for a new coloring book holder. The supply list is pretty simple.
$1 for the contact paper, however much for Cheerios that we already ate, and scissors I already have. Cheap.
- Costco-sized cereal box
- Contact paper
- Scissors
- And maybe a pen for marking
I’ve also used large oatmeal boxes. The box just has to have enough depth to accommodate the width of the coloring books (or magazines or notebooks) and the cardboard should be somewhat sturdy.
Step 1a: Cut off the top flaps of the box.
Step 1b: Cut off excess height from the top of the box, leaving a couple inches above the height of the book for protection.
See how your box and book compare, size-wise
Step 2: Cut down about 1/3 off the front of the box to make it easy to remove the books (and to put them back, of course! Because that’s the whole point of this thing).
Ok, so I forgot to take a picture of the opening until after I'd finished it.
Step 3: Lay the box on the wrong side of the contact paper to measure out how much you will need to wrap around the entire thing. Leave an inch or so to fold over the cut edges and a couple inches to overlap on the bottom of the box.
Look! It's actual Contact brand!
Step 4: Slowly begin peeling back the contact paper and rolling the box over it to make it nice and smooth. Before you fold down the extra flaps at the top and bottom of the box, make a snip into each corner for the flaps of contact paper to fold over smoothly.
Inside top of the box
Bottom o' the box. I suppose you could cover the whole thing if you were so inclined. I am not.
Step 5: Fill it up with all those stray coloring books! Ta dah!
Ahhh, nice
Super easy and it looks so much better than just having a Cheerios box permanently on display. The contact paper makes it look nice enough that the kids no longer perceive the box as fair game trash. Other boxes I’ve made like this have actually lasted for years, which is longer than some of their toys.
So there you go. Start rounding up all those flimsy books and magazines and make them a new home!
Two Frogs and a Grasshopper 