A Crafty Little Organizer by Babara Rankin

Hi everyone! Barbara here on the Craftwell Blog today with an upcycled project using my Craftwell eBrush. Did you know that August 17th is National Thrift Shop Day? To honor this quirky holiday, the Craftwell design team has been given a challenge to upcycle a thrift store item or something around the house.

So, I ask you, what can you do with a few empty prescription bottles and a large plastic jar lid?

I know! How about a crafty little organizer for your craft desk? In this organizer, I keep my smaller, but oh-so-necessary everyday supplies, like Q-tips, glue sticks, wooden skewers for stirring, decoupage scissors for fussy cutting, and my most needed writing tools (pencil, black pens, and a white gel pen).

Step 1: To begin, I eBrushed color onto an 8-1/2" x 11" piece of white card stock with a light pink marker. I just wanted to get some color down, but not necessarily going for full coverage.

Step 2: Next, place a stencil over the paper and eBrush through it with an orange marker.

Step 3: Repeat Step 2 with the same stencil and a darker pink marker.

Step 4: Repeat Step 2 again with the same stencil and a yellow marker.

Step 5: Now that I have some "texture" down, I filled in the background with a bit more of that light pink marker from Step 1.

Step 6: Using a different stencil, I added some additional design with a blue marker.

Step 7: To add a vintage feel to the paper, I lightly eBrushed the background with a brown marker.

Step 8: I used my Cut n' Boss to die cut a couple of honeycomb shapes using my Teresa Collins Honeycomb Project Die. I love the versatility of this die and use it a lot.

Step 9: Using the honeycomb die cut as a stencil, I laid it over my background paper and stenciled though it with a green marker, while coloring the die cut at the same time.

Step 10: Continue coloring the second honeycomb die cut with the same green marker from Step 9. I left some of the honeycomb bits in the die cut while coloring so I could use them for future projects. I love saving the bits from my dies for this purpose. They make great confetti, too!

Step 10: For a bit of pizazz, I eBrushed the two die cuts with a silver marker. Set these aside for now.

Step 11: Use a script stamp with black archival ink to add more depth and texture to the background paper.

Step 12: Cut two strips 2-3/8" x 8-1/2" from the card stock.

Step 13: Add adhesive to the two strips, or use your Xyron machine for quick and easy application. Cut each strip in half and adhere to the four smaller bottles.

Step 14: Trace around the large cap, keeping close to the edge of the paper, as shown. Cut just inside the pencil lines of the circle and adhere the piece inside the cap.

Step 15: First cut a 2" x 8-1/2" strip from the remaining piece left, and then cut a 2-7/8" x 4-1/4" piece, as shown. From the 2" x 8-1/2" piece, cut two 1/2" x 8-1/2" strips, leaving a 1" x 8-1/2"strip. You will use this for Step 18.

Step 16: Cover the outer edge of the large cap with the two 1/2" x 8-1/2" strips and cut off excess.

Step 17: Cover the larger bottle with the 2-7/8" x 4-1/4" piece.

Step 18: Lastly, cut 1/4" strips from the remaining pieces to finish off the top of each bottle.

I tried to make my paper colors match the amber color of my bottles, since I knew some of it would be showing. Keep that in mind whenever you cover something that you know will not be covered completely.

Step 19: Glue all of the bottles inside the large lid, as shown. I used a wet glue for this and allowed it to dry before handling it any further.

Step 20: Cut the honeycomb die cuts in half, but in an uneven fashion. Adhere the pieces around the bottles, adding glue where the die cut touches the bottle. Continue adding the pieces until you have gone around the bottles completely.

Step 21: Lastly, add some floral embellishments to the organizer. Use your markers to eBrush any flowers or leaves that you want to have match your project. Below, I used the four markers shown in the photo, starting with the lightest pink, at the bottom, then the darker pink, following with the orange and then the silver marker.

Step 22: For this white flower, I wanted to keep it very pastel, so I only eBrushed it very lightly with the same light pink marker.

Step 23: Add the embellishments to the front side of the organizer, as shown. Below is a view from each side.

Supplies Used:

Craftwell USA eBrush

Craft well Cut n' Boss

Teresa Collins Project Dies - Honeycomb
Stencils
Markers
Black archival ink
Script stamp

I hope you enjoyed this upcycled project today. There will be more fun upcycling projects to come, so make sure to check out the Craftwell Blog all month long for more inspiration from the team.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a crafty day!

August 18, 2016