From Cereal Box to DIY Magazine Holder

I have been slowly deciding what goes back into my living room and dining room after their recent paint updates.  Having the room empty for a few days really gave me the push I needed to declutter both rooms and only put back what I really want in the rooms.  There are certain things that must go back, but I definitely need to put them back in a much more organized way.  

My kids piano books have never really had a home.  They would sit in a basket on the floor, but that basket was always overflowing.  I knew I needed a better solution.  I have a built in book shelf in my dining room and after using some of the home decor books in some of my vignettes, space opened up.  I knew I wanted to use magazine holders for the kid's books, so I decided to turn my kid's cereal boxes into magazine/piano book holders.

This is a really easy project...one I put together in less than a half hour yesterday morning.  I used two of the same extra large cereal boxes.  You want to make sure the box you choose is large enough to accommodate the magazines/books you plan on using it for.  I covered the boxes using some temporary wallpaper I had left over from this project.  

Temporary Wallpaper backsplash 

You could also use contact paper or scrapbook paper with mod podge.  The temporary wallpaper was easy to work with and is a little thicker than contact paper which gives the boxes more stability.  I covered both the inside and outside of the boxes for a more finished look, but you could certainly just cover the outside.  

After covering the boxes, I used my Silhouette machine and printed out these labels. 

I cut them out and glued them onto these name tag self-stick badges and then cut it out to size.

Using the badges made my labels self-sticking.

So much more organized than the pile on the floor. Lol

Can't wait to hear what you think.

-Judy

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DIY Magazine Holder

I have wanted to get my daughter a magazine holder for her desk for a while.  It would help neaten up her desk as well as give her a place for all of her tween magazines.  I've searched for a while for one to coordinate with the memo board I created (click here for that tutorial).

I couldn't find anything I loved.  I thought about buying a magazine holder and then covering it with the leftover fabric I had from the memo board, but why spend money on a magazine holder when I could probably make one from scratch.

My solution...a UPS box.  You could also use a Fed Ex, USPS etc box as well.  I used the medium size UPS which had a depth of 3" which would work for the magazine holder.

I put one end of the box together and stood it next to a magazine holder I had in the house from my mudroom.  I used my mudroom magazine holder as a guide and traced all four sides.

Then using a utility knife, I carefully cut along my pencil line.

Using the left over fabric from my daughter's memo board, I laid the new magazine holder on the fabric and traced around it, rolling the box as I continued to trace the shape.  This way I had one continuous piece of fabric (only one seam that way).

Using Mod Podge I applied the fabric to the box.  I must tell you that Mod Podge works so well with fabric.  I find it so much easier than working with paper...but that's just me.

I wrapped it all around until the last edge overlapped a little bit.

I folded under that edge and used Mod Podge to hold it in place.  It holds almost immediately.

I then folded each of those edges over to the inside of the box and used Mod Podge again to adhere it.  I then used the remaining fabric and covered the inside as well.   The inside was trickier mainly because I was cutting it close on fabric...I had one continuous piece of fabric inside as well except for one little patched area (which is low enough that you can't see it).  Keep in mind that both the memo board and the magazine rack were created using a total of one yard of fabric.

Here is the final product...it came out exactly as I had envisioned it.

You can see how I folded over all of the inside and outside edges in this closeup to give it a store-bought look.  I love this project -  it was easy and free.  What a perfect combination!

My Swing into Spring party link will stay open through Friday.  You can click here to join in the fun.

Let me know what you think of the new magazine holder.  I always love and appreciate your comments.

-Judy