We have a couple problems in our lives.
One is that we have too many books. One is that we have too many magazines.
I know, I know, you're saying to yourselves, "Too many books? That's not a problem, that's a part of life for the well-read." Well, we too used to convince ourselves that we were OK, but we've grown older and wiser, and now we have to face facts. We need to eliminate magazines that will not be reread and we need good storage for magazines that will be reread.
Enter today's project.
Here's how you too can make magazine racks from some old 12-pack soda boxes and a couple fat quarters of fabric.
The first thing you need to do is glue together 3-4 layers of 12-pack cardboard boxes.
This will give you a sturdier board to work with.
You may want to sand the cardboard to rough up the edges (especially on the glossy side) to help the glue stick and lower the bumps on the seams, but I've done it both ways (sanded and sans-sanded) and seen little (SOME, but little) difference in the results.
Then, you need to cut your parts out and label them. We used a plastic magazine rack for our pattern and just traced around it.
We cut one set of pattern pieces out of thin cardboard just to keep on file, and we used it to trace around for the other pieces. Be sure to label each part.
Then, cover the back of the pieces with glue and stick some fabric to them. I usually use a brush to apply the glue and then smooth out the fabric. It helps to lay the pieces out the way you're going to assemble them so that you are beginning to build hinges out of fabric to keep the cardboard together.
Then trim down the fabric so that it is lined up around most of the edges. This doesn't have to be perfect because you're going to wrap the other side around.
Flip the cardboard over to the uncovered side and repeat, but don't trim it down all the way to the cardboard this time. Leave an inch of fabric or so. This fabric will become your hinges to keep your box 3-D.
Then, assemble the piece by folding the overlap over where it needs to be folded and gluing it in place. Snip slits in the fabric overlap where necessary to get it to lay flat.
The glue will actually turn the fabric into a rigid, plastic-feeling material when it dries, so you can paste down the seams well, so they don't fly out like strings.
Then let it dry, so it doesn't stick to your magazines, and then use it!
Hooray for upcycling, finding a place for overstocked magazines, and for pretty fabric magazine files!
One is that we have too many books. One is that we have too many magazines.
I know, I know, you're saying to yourselves, "Too many books? That's not a problem, that's a part of life for the well-read." Well, we too used to convince ourselves that we were OK, but we've grown older and wiser, and now we have to face facts. We need to eliminate magazines that will not be reread and we need good storage for magazines that will be reread.
Enter today's project.
Here's how you too can make magazine racks from some old 12-pack soda boxes and a couple fat quarters of fabric.
The first thing you need to do is glue together 3-4 layers of 12-pack cardboard boxes.
This will give you a sturdier board to work with.
You may want to sand the cardboard to rough up the edges (especially on the glossy side) to help the glue stick and lower the bumps on the seams, but I've done it both ways (sanded and sans-sanded) and seen little (SOME, but little) difference in the results.
Then, you need to cut your parts out and label them. We used a plastic magazine rack for our pattern and just traced around it.
We cut one set of pattern pieces out of thin cardboard just to keep on file, and we used it to trace around for the other pieces. Be sure to label each part.
Then, cover the back of the pieces with glue and stick some fabric to them. I usually use a brush to apply the glue and then smooth out the fabric. It helps to lay the pieces out the way you're going to assemble them so that you are beginning to build hinges out of fabric to keep the cardboard together.
Then trim down the fabric so that it is lined up around most of the edges. This doesn't have to be perfect because you're going to wrap the other side around.
Flip the cardboard over to the uncovered side and repeat, but don't trim it down all the way to the cardboard this time. Leave an inch of fabric or so. This fabric will become your hinges to keep your box 3-D.
Then, assemble the piece by folding the overlap over where it needs to be folded and gluing it in place. Snip slits in the fabric overlap where necessary to get it to lay flat.
The glue will actually turn the fabric into a rigid, plastic-feeling material when it dries, so you can paste down the seams well, so they don't fly out like strings.
Then let it dry, so it doesn't stick to your magazines, and then use it!
Hooray for upcycling, finding a place for overstocked magazines, and for pretty fabric magazine files!
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