Saturday, February 2, 2013

$0.00 Diaper Box Makeover

What's better than a REALLY good DIY?? A really good CHEAP a.k.a. almost FREE DIY!! Which is what this is!! Woo!! And I'm all about decorating on the cheap...

I had this idea a while ago and searched for it on Pinterest but couldn't find it.. and it's so obvious I thought!! So without further ado.. I introduce the basically FREE...

That's right, you read correctly. Paint sticks. FREE!!! Genius?? Yes.

I'm a fabric hoarder so I already had the fabric and spray paint on hand already so this project was COMPLETELY FREE! Can't be that! Free always fits in my budget!

Want to know how to do it??

What You'll Need:

-Diaper Box
-50 Paint sticks (roughly - depending on size of diaper box - mine took 10 sticks on short side and 15 on the long side)
-Spray Paint (or stain for the paint sticks)
-Fabric for inner part of box
-Fabric for fold over part of box
-Glue Gun


Start with your empty diaper box, get a sharp knife (or scissors) and cut off the tabs on top...




Now grab your paint sticks, and a good movie to watch, because this part takes a little bit...



I recommend laying out your paint sticks on the side of the box first to make sure that you can fit them comfortably.. Like I said, I found that my diaper box needed 10 for the short sides and 15 for the long sides..






Take your handy dandy hot glue gun and you need to move kind of fast for this part... run a strip of glue down the printed side of your paint stick and quickly stick it on the box. Press down on it until the glue is dry... If you don't move quickly enough, your hot glue will dry before your stick is on the box... so chop chop people!



All done!! Doesn't it already look better?? And don't worry about the paint sticks coming above the top of the box... those are getting covered with fabric anyways, but you can always cut down your paint sticks so that they are the exact same height as your box.

Now take your handy dandy spray paint (or stain) and paint your box!! I used this... which is my favorite!!

Rust-Oleum Heirloom White in Satin
I know, I know, it's obviously freezing outside, but I wanted this project done!!!!! Place your paint-sticked box upside down and paint!! Make sure you get the bottom of the box so you can't see any of the original colors...
No Coat

One Coat

Two Coats
See how you can't see any of the original color?? That's what we want!!

Now, onto the lining of your box..get your fabric and measure how big you need to make your peices...




They should look like this once you're all done cutting them out...


 Measure the size for the outside fabric of the box.. in my case, it's the green fabric. I wanted to make sure that it covered the divets in the paint sticks... Add a little extra length so that there's a little bit of fabric in the box.. make sense?? Oh goodness, I hope so.. It's so much easier for me to do it than to explain... that's my weakness..

Those should look like this when you cut them out..


 Now, sew the edges together with all your pieces.. should look like this..



 Now... take the fabric for the inside of your box, and sew up the remaining edges... It will look like this when you're done...


Attach your outer fabric, and it will look like this...


Try to match up your seams, it will look much better if you do...

No, hem the outer fabric, so that it has a nice finished look when you put this in the diaper box...



Now you're done!! Just slip your fabric into the box.. this could take some time to get it to sit right, and Viola!! Totally free diaper box makeover!! So much cuter and way more fitting for my home!!





You could finish it off with attaching some handles or something or painting something on the sides, but I like this clean look. It will look great in my bedroom against the dark gray walls! So excited!!

Best part ... TOTALLY FREE! Woo!!!

I hope this tutorial made sense, if it didn't (which is very likely) or you have questions, feel free to leave a comment and I'll try my hardest to explain better!!

Happy Crafting!!


4 comments:

  1. Love it! I have been keeping my diaper boxes waiting to see a box make-over I actually like...thanks to you I found it! Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Great idea! Can't wait to get started

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  3. I am sure this will be put to very good use with two in diapers - very clever and it looks really nice - love watching for all your clever ideas

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  4. when and got some paint sticks today! Thanks again for the awesome idea!

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