Jazzy Fabric Boxes

A pretty box never ceases to brighten up my day, and as I have spent the last three days stuck in the house with sick children my day needed brightening!









You need an old shoe box with a lid and some pretty fabric. Most fabric shops will sell 'Fat-Quarters' for less than a pound or two and they are perfect for this project.

You will also need some spray adhesive glue that can be bought at a craft shop or hardware shop.

Cut your fabric the right size by laying the box in the middle of the fabric and leaving a margin around the outside that is at least 2cms longer than the sides of the box.

For example, if your box is 15cms tall then there should be at least 17cms of fabric around each side of the box.






Cover the table with scrap paper and then spray a thin layer of spray adhesive over the fabric.

Gently lift the long sides of fabric up to the box so they stick firmly. You may need to redo this if there are lots of wrinkles in the fabric.

Make sure both long edges are stuck up and then fold a triangle shape from the side onto the short end of the box. If this instruction is unclear look at how I did the lid (below) as I have marked out the triangle on the box.

 

Once you have stuck this triangle down on both sides the fabric can just be lifted up to reveal a perfect corner.

Once both ends have been stuck fold all of the edges over into the box.

Now for the lid.

Begin in exactly the same way measuring your fabric so it is the height plus 2cms wider than the box.

You can see on this photo that I have marked in pen the triangle shape I mentioned earlier. It is a 45 degree angle from the corner and the fabric from the side should stick to the top triangle shape.

As mentioned, the fabric folds from the side of the lid to the top triangle shape.

A bit out of focus, sorry, but the fabric can then be folded up on both sides to cover the triangle shape and then the whole lot can be folded into the lid.

Here are the finished boxes. You could use these as storage boxes, presents or decorations.

The same principles can be used with wrapping-paper instead of fabric, making this an ideal way to cover shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.

Operation Christmas Child is a BRILLIANT charity that delivers shoeboxes filled with gifts to children in some of the poorest countries.  Perhaps you could get involved by decorating and filling a shoebox with gifts for a child this Christmas!