Storage | ShabbyShe

Archive for the category “Storage”

16 Jun 2017

Find your sparkle!

I’ve been making a few blingy pieces recently which have proved very popular in my Etsy shop!

My Capri Sun lunchbags got a girly update with some hot pink handles, mauve zips and gorgeous sparkly glitter tape. You can’t beat a bit of spangly bling to cheer your day 🙂

Sparkly pink lunch bag made from Capri Sun juice pouches - by ShabbySheUK

Once I got hold of the glitter tape there was no stopping me, and I’ve made cosmetics pouches, pencil cases and phone sleeves with sparkly bits!

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Or how about this latest phone case, made for a lucky young lady getting her first iPhone this birthday! Her mum asked if I could add some glittery touches and I was only too happy to oblige ❤

I find ribbon a very versatile medium too and love using it to add a decorative trim to lunch bags, pencil pouches and phone sleeves. This beautiful magenta ribbon has a lovely sheen with reflects light so nicely and pretties up this make up bag.

Make up pouch made from upcycled Capri Suns and shiny ribbon

I hope you’re all having a sparkle-tastic week too! x

Posted in Storage, Upcycled or Repurposed and tagged back to school, bags, Capri Sun, cellphone, cosmetics pouch, DIY, Etsy, gifts, handmade, home decor, homemade, lunchbox, makeup storage, recycled, Repurposed, revamp, Sewing & Fabric, sparkle, stationery, xmas | Leave a comment

27 May 2015

4 Comments

Juice Pouch Party Food Box or Favour Bag

You know when you go to a children’s party and for their tea they each have a party food box? Such a great idea – each child is given their own food, with no bun-fight involved! There is less food wasted and everyone can eat a balanced and sensible amount (within reason!) I hate to see all those cartons thrown away at the end of the meal. It’s obviously easy and convenient to dispose of everything, but what a waste!

Here’s my solution: a mini Capri Sun bag with handle – 100% recycled apart from the thread that holds it together and the ribbon trim.

What I think is nice about my latest juice pouch upcycle is that it can be used and reused – these bags are easy to wipe clean or can be washed up with the dishes and left to air dry. Now, the party food box can easily be emptied, even given a quick wipe, and used as the party favour bag too, for each child to take home his or her goodies at the end of the party.

I’m thinking maybe even treasure hunt bags or Easter egg baskets too? The possibilities are endless…!

I’m popping this little number in my Etsy shop, do take a look at this and my other juice pouch upcycles if you’re into eco-friendly bags. I’m trying to get to a stage where I have one for every occasion 😉 I’m currently working on a zippered lunch box for picnics or long journeys, when the insulated pouches can really come into their own and keep food cool and fresh.

What’s everyone else recycling? Leave me a comment, or if you Tweet join in #makedoandmendhour hosted by Jen on Twitter, Thursdays from 8-9pm UK time – I drop by when I can 🙂

Posted in Storage, Upcycled or Repurposed and tagged bags, cheap craft ideas, DIY, Easy crafts, Etsy, gifts, handmade, homemade, lunchbox, packed lunch ideas, rainy day fun, recycled, Repurposed, Sewing & Fabric, Upcycled

17 Aug 2014

2 Comments

Spice Rack made from Upcycled Cot

More making something new and useful for the home from something old and no longer needed: a DIY spice rack made from our old cot.

You may remember a while ago I discovered a bit of upcycling ingenuity from ShabbyHe in the form of some hanging storage for the garage – which I wrongly described as the cot base – it was in fact the side of the cot, which gives the baby that whole “zoo animal” look 😀

The same cot used by both our babies has had further repurposing treatment with this wall-mounted DIY spice rack, made using the slatted cot base. We needed a large spice rack to house our many herbs and spices – they had taken over a drawer, the top of the microwave and half a cupboard and enough was enough!

Spice rack made from repurposed cot base

I feel I should apologise at this point for the decor in our kitchen – we had the kitchen damp-proofed and replastered when we moved in (quite a long time ago!) but as we’re hoping to extend and redecorate the kitchen next year (hopefully with lots of shabby chic/vintage and upcycled bits) we haven’t bothered to improve it yet!

You may also notice that my herbs and spices are not in nice matching pots or even arranged by colour/brand – this is because:

1. I can’t throw out or replace perfectly decent jars until the contents are used up (not v. green)
2. I arranged them alphabetically so I can instantly put my hand on the ingredient I need – and see when it needs re-stocking 🙂

We used the cot base and attached slats to the front along the length then screwed on horizontal slats at 12cm intervals. The front horizontal slats hold the jars in place as they effectively lean against them and stand on the cot slats behind – this picture hopefully shows more clearly what I mean…

Spice jars are held in place by leaning against the front slats

ShabbyHe finished by fixing the rack on a wall which doesn’t get any direct sunlight – quite important as this really impairs the look and flavour of most herbs and spices.

I’m really pleased with the finished result – all the jars are now arranged in order in one place and I can find what I need straight away instead of checking in several places. I might paint it at some point but not until our kitchen makeover next Summer!

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This post is now featured on Handmade Monday over at Handmade Harbour – do pop over and see the other fab link ups! x

Posted in Storage, Upcycled or Repurposed and tagged DIY, handmade, homemade, kitchen organisation, kitchen storage, recycled, Repurposed, Upcycled, woodwork

23 May 2014

4 Comments

Pallet Upcycle – Smallest room re-do!

Storage unit and art work display made from recycled pallet wood

I’m very excited about this upcycle project as it combines the several favourites of mine:

reusing and repurposing pallets
storage solutions
displaying the children’s “art work”, and…
fabric decoupage – who can resist a bit of mod podge fabric fun after all??

It also showcases the talents of ShabbyHe, who created this clever toilet paper storage shelf…

Upcycled pallet toilet roll storage

Fabric decoupage decorated clothes pegs

My contribution was the wooden clothes pegs which I decorated with fabric and mod podge (a brilliant glue and sealer for those not in the know) – a process known as fabric decoupage.

We then used a strong wood glue to bond the pegs to the pallet wood. Adding some recent (a-hem) “masterpieces” by the kids was the final touch 😉

Upcycled pallet and peg art display board

Art display – pallet wood and decorated clothes pegs

Pallet upcycle love 🙂

Decoupaged wooden peg is bonded to pallet wood for displaying pictures

Toilet makeover using repurposed pallet wood

What do you think? x

Posted in Storage, Upcycled or Repurposed and tagged homemade, recycled, Repurposed, reusing pallets, Upcycled, wooden pallets

20 Apr 2014

1 Comment

Hanging Pockets – CD Wallet and Cardboard Box Upcycle

Fancy a 30 minute craft which will help solving storage and organisational problems and can make a pretty gift…?

I was clearing out the horror that is our kitchen drawers recently, and wondering how to we can keep all the many flashcards I’ve made to help the children with their reading & spellings, when inspiration struck – in the form of the modest CD wallet!

I would make hanging storage for the flashcards, reusing the CD wallets as pockets!

Materials assembled ready for upcycling

I gathered my supplies:-

hot glue gun
flat cardboard (so glad I kept that huge box!)
plastic CD wallets
ribbon for hanging
self adhesive decorative vinyl film
flashcards (homemade obviously)

In true ShabbyShe style, everything – apart from the glue gun and self adhesive paper – is recycled or repurposed (including the lovely green ribbon – I love green & hot pink together).

It was just a case of working out how tall and wide I wanted it – I used the CD wallet pockets as a guide for this step – and covering the card with the decorative vinyl.

Card and plastic CD wallet hanging storage

Working out dimensions for hanging storage

Decorating cardboard with self adhesive vinyl

Adhesive vinyl paper covers the card to give a pretty finish

Hanging pockets - using glue dots to fix in place

I used glue dots to position the pockets

Next I glued the “pockets” on with glue dots (LOVE these, they’re so quick & versatile!) and punched the top edge with an office paper holepunch for the ribbon.

Add holes for the ribbon using a holepunch

I hot-glued the vinyl paper edges onto the back of the hanging storage to make sure it would stay put, and did the same to the top pocket for good measure. Then I tied on the ribbon and hung the thing up to assess my work…

Easy-pleasy quick craft project – hanging storage pockets

Yes – I was pleased with the result, although the ribbon was slightly too long (picky I know!)

Here it is, the finished product including the all-important flashcards (and slightly shortened ribbon) – this also solves the small problem of my lovely Bonjour coat hooks which can only hold lightweight coats 🙂

Finished hanging storage pockets, complete with flashcards

Hopefully this will encourage us to use their flashcards more now too!

Posted in Homemade gifts, Storage, Upcycled or Repurposed and tagged cheap craft ideas, gifts, homemade, rainy day fun, recycled, Repurposed, stationery, storage pockets, Upcycled

28 May 2013

1 Comment

Garage Hanging Storage Ideas

A happy discovery in the garage! My husband has been having a clear out and tidy up (about 6 years overdue!) and I peeped in to see how it was progressing. Check out this clever hanging storage

Garage storage using cot base and wardrobe hanging storage

Wardrobe/closet hanging storage and cot base have been reused to create clever hanging storage in the garage

1. a canvas hanging organiser for clothes/shoes which we never used in the house as we have limited wardrobe space

2. the base of our old baby cot, hung with S hooks from a metal beam and now a brilliant way to store gardening and garage bits that would otherwise clutter up floor space.

Turns out we have a Shabby He in our midst too – all this upcycling and repurposing is rubbing off on everyone in the house :O)