I make my boxes with thick millboard and bookcloth, but you can use any sturdy cardboard and paper. You can make lids for your boxes if you'd like as well. I make my own vintage map covered boxes for my Far Away Mail Sets this way, too. I recommend using Ross or Staples brand glue sticks for gluing, as I have found that they hold well and work great.
I have made up a pattern and instructions if you'd like to make some of your own boxes, too! because this is one of the first sets of instructions that I have ever put together, please let me know if you try them out - how it goes and if you have any thoughts on how I could make it better:
perfect box instructions.pdf
Another nice thing that I've been doing with these homemade boxes recently is making perfect drawer organisers.
It often drives me crazy, not having appropriately sized boxes to hold items that I used over and over again. I finally decided to start making my own. For example, I made perfect sized boxes to hold all of my rolodex cards and that also fit perfectly into my cabinet drawers. Now I have the perfect place to hold the cards, and when I'm working with them I can simply slide the boxes I need from the drawer, and place them back in when I'm done. It is so satisfying.
When we moved into our house, I set aside a low drawer in the kitchen just for Adelaide. This is where we store all her own kitchen-items such as dishes, cups, and cutlery. Because the drawer is low, it is easy for her to reach. She loves to help me unload the dishwasher, and she seems to find much satisfaction in putting away and managing her own little things.
As I use this drawer over and over every single day, I make an extra effort to try to keep it a nice and tidy. However, this doesn't always work. It kind of bugs me when I open it up and things have slid all over (or someone else has just dumped items in any which way). I had been keeping an eye out for some appropriate drawer dividers, but never found any the right sizes for our drawer. Plus I found most of them pretty ugly, especially for a little girl's drawer.
Finally, I decided to make Adelaide some pretty drawer dividers for her special drawer. To do so, I arranged all the items in her drawer functionally, and measured all the space that each type of item would need. I measured out how high the boxes would be, and started in by making one box, placing it in the drawer, than the next, then the next (to make sure the measurements would work out) I made 7 boxes in all, and lined their bottoms simply with a few cut out paper towels which I can replace easily if they get messy. These boxes all fit together perfectly in the drawer, and it is so satisfying to open up it and have it so pretty and organised!
Best of all, Adelaide is so so proud of her own little drawer. I am hoping to show and teach her - by example - how good and easy it can be to keep things nice and neat - she loves it!
ps. All of Adelaide's ceramic dishes - including the divided plates - are from Daiso. I love that even though they are beautiful and not plastic, they were only $2 each, so I never worry about them being chipped or broken (which is surprisingly rare anyways). Her cups and sippy tops are made by Tupperware. And I finally found her some nice, cute, and non-cartoon cutlery from Pottery Barn Kids.
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