Shoebox Art
I have long thought that one of the biggest obstacles to making a house feel like a home is all those blank walls. That’s why we made this giant horse silhouette way back when, why I hang album art, and why I frame vintage sewing patterns. But there’s a project I did awhile back that I never told you about, and it’s the kind of crafting I love: pretty fabric + junk you have laying around the house = something pretty to hang on the walls. Instead of framing fabric, which is a lovely idea, I wrapped box lids with fabric (as you would a present) and hung it right on the wall. This was originally conceived as a grouping of box lids in complementary fabrics (kind of like a quilt for your wall). I can’t quite remember how I ended up with just the pink birds, but either as a solo piece or a grouping, the project is equally successful — it’s just another way for me to great colorful, cheery fabrics into my home without having to haul out the sewing machine.
What You’ll Need
3-5 fabrics that look nice together, about 1/4-1/2 yard of each
shoebox lids and/or box flaps
tape
scissors
iron
nails and a hammer
mounting squares or heavy duty tape
Arrange your box lids on the floor in a pattern that appeals to your eye. Think Mondrian. Then wrap the fabric over each box lid to see which fabric should go where, thinking about proportion, balance, and which fabric you want to be the focal point.
Iron your fabric while listening to something really great. Then, as if you were wrapping a present, wrap each box lid or flap in fabric, taping it down tight on the underside.
When all the box pieces have been wrapped, transfer your arrangement to a wall, hanging the lids on nails and adhering the flat box flap pieces to the wall with heavy duty tape or mounting squares. Admire the pretty wrapping that no one will ever have to tear into.
Samantha Angela @ Bikini Birthday: awesome idea! my husband and i mounted some nice fabric floor pillows on our wall for decoration and for use. when we don’t have enough seating we just take them off the wall and throw them on the ground.1 year ago
Meredith @ A Busy Nest: I never would have thought of this in a million years! I’m very much so a fan of projects like these!1 year ago
Hillary: I’ve done something similar with inexpensive frames from Ikea. The Ram frames are the right price (although check for 90 degree angles and straight lines), and it let me put color blocks on apartment walls when I couldn’t paint. I used hot glue to get the fabric tight and mounting plates with quarter-inch screws to hold multiple frames together.1 year ago
Samantha, I love the idea of just grabbing the floor pillows off the wall when you need an extra seat — that’s pretty brilliant.
Meredith, I’m a fan of super simple things like this, too — I just don’t have to the skillz to pull off anything much more complicated…
Hilary, Such a great idea for a place where you can’t paint!1 year ago
Alicia Kachmar: Awesome! I had forgotten about your framed patterns–love that idea!1 year ago
Ann: This is brilliant and so cute!1 year ago
Christa Terry: I love this idea! Right now I’m designing my daughter’s future room in my head, but I need to be wicked thrifty. Something like this will be perfect.1 year ago
Sara Rose: This is a totally fabu idea and it is JUST what I was looking for when we move to our new place. I don’t have anything I really love for our dining room but this would be totally PERFECT!!!1 year ago
Dayna: I have a chronic blank wall problem. This is a great idea!1 year ago
Bridget: I did something similar to this in my bedroom a couple of years ago. I covered a shoebox lid in some cheerful orange fabric, suck a piece of foam to the inside lid of the box and pushed in a few sewing pins, now I’ve got a colourful piece of wall art that I can also hang my necklaces on.1 year ago
Elizabeth: What great decorating ideas! Thanks for the tips!1 year ago
molly: holy cow, this is just pure brilliant! i’ve always mourned the death of shoe boxes, just a little. and since i can’t sew (still!), but love fabric (always!!), this idea makes me downright giddy. thanks for sharing.1 year ago
Shyla Batliwalla: This is too cute! Thanks for sharing … you have a gift for creativity.1 year ago