Upcycled Toner Box Into Ribbon Holder
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Upcycled Toner Box Into Ribbon Holder
I wanted a ribbon holder to display my ribbons for when I make cards and things. Before I had to dig around boxes and baggies for what I wanted, and now I have most displayed in my two-sided double-stacked ribbon holder!
Tools and Supplies
Here are the tools and supplies I used:
• Toner Box (Free)
• Printer & 6 sheets of printer paper
• Double Sided Sticky Tape for taping the “X” templates to toner box
• Craft Knife
• Pencil
• Scissors (regular and kitchen shears)
• Plastic Sheet to protect table when using paint and Mod Podge
• Foam Brushes
• Deco Art Americana 2 oz. Acrylic Paint Slate Grey Acrylic Paint ($1.50) (or whatever color you want)
• Four ¼ “x 36” wooden dowel rods (I only needed two I discovered) ($.60/each)
• Black Marker
• Mod Podge: Matte & Glossy
• Containers for both Mod Podge formulas
• Houndstooth tissue paper (Pack came with 3 sheets of the houndstooth & 3 white) ($1.99 at Walgreens)
• Clear Packing Tape
• Tiny paint brush (I purchased at Hobby Lobby in a pack)
• Silver Ranger Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Ink Mixative (I purchased at half off at Joann’s for $4.99 for a pack of gold and silver)
I spent about $5.90 (as I had the Mod Podge and alcohol ink on hand) and I could have just spent $1.20 less had I remembered how big of wooden dowel rods I would need.
• Toner Box (Free)
• Printer & 6 sheets of printer paper
• Double Sided Sticky Tape for taping the “X” templates to toner box
• Craft Knife
• Pencil
• Scissors (regular and kitchen shears)
• Plastic Sheet to protect table when using paint and Mod Podge
• Foam Brushes
• Deco Art Americana 2 oz. Acrylic Paint Slate Grey Acrylic Paint ($1.50) (or whatever color you want)
• Four ¼ “x 36” wooden dowel rods (I only needed two I discovered) ($.60/each)
• Black Marker
• Mod Podge: Matte & Glossy
• Containers for both Mod Podge formulas
• Houndstooth tissue paper (Pack came with 3 sheets of the houndstooth & 3 white) ($1.99 at Walgreens)
• Clear Packing Tape
• Tiny paint brush (I purchased at Hobby Lobby in a pack)
• Silver Ranger Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Ink Mixative (I purchased at half off at Joann’s for $4.99 for a pack of gold and silver)
I spent about $5.90 (as I had the Mod Podge and alcohol ink on hand) and I could have just spent $1.20 less had I remembered how big of wooden dowel rods I would need.
Mark Where to Make Holes
+ I measured the short side of the toner box and made a textbox in MS Word to fit the measurements.
I decided to make 3 "X"s on each of two rows for where I wanted the dowel holes placed (I wanted the center holes in case I wanted to adjust where the dowels were placed, in case I had big rolls of ribbons. This proved rather useless, actually.)
+ I discovered the long side of the toner box was basically 2x the size of the short side, so I used the same text box, and spaced out two rows of "X"s on the same lines I had just 3 "X"s for the dowel holes. (so they would be the same height of the dowel rods.)
+++ I want to note here: All those little holes were also useless. I later would realize I had more wide ribbon than small yarns and such, so I wound up cutting 3 of the 4 rows of holes into long slits along the length of the toner box, as you can see in the finished product. I had thought to make smaller slits, but that turned out to be more trouble than worth matching the ribbons to slit sizes, and seemed to make less room for ribbons.
+ After I used double-sided sticky tape to hold the cut out text-boxes in place, I used a craft knife to make slits where I wanted the holes.
+ I then pushed a pencil through the slits to create round holes. (By the time I had pushed the pencil through all the holes, most of the paint had come off of the pencil.)
I decided to make 3 "X"s on each of two rows for where I wanted the dowel holes placed (I wanted the center holes in case I wanted to adjust where the dowels were placed, in case I had big rolls of ribbons. This proved rather useless, actually.)
+ I discovered the long side of the toner box was basically 2x the size of the short side, so I used the same text box, and spaced out two rows of "X"s on the same lines I had just 3 "X"s for the dowel holes. (so they would be the same height of the dowel rods.)
+++ I want to note here: All those little holes were also useless. I later would realize I had more wide ribbon than small yarns and such, so I wound up cutting 3 of the 4 rows of holes into long slits along the length of the toner box, as you can see in the finished product. I had thought to make smaller slits, but that turned out to be more trouble than worth matching the ribbons to slit sizes, and seemed to make less room for ribbons.
+ After I used double-sided sticky tape to hold the cut out text-boxes in place, I used a craft knife to make slits where I wanted the holes.
+ I then pushed a pencil through the slits to create round holes. (By the time I had pushed the pencil through all the holes, most of the paint had come off of the pencil.)
Paint the Box
I wanted to paint the box so that the toner box images/words wouldn't show through when I glued on the tissue paper.
+ I laid a plastic sheet down to protect the table from paint and Mod Podge.
+ I then squirted the slate grey paint on top of the toner box and painted the whole thing with a foam craft brush.
+ I laid a plastic sheet down to protect the table from paint and Mod Podge.
+ I then squirted the slate grey paint on top of the toner box and painted the whole thing with a foam craft brush.
Measure and Cut Wooden Dowel Rods
+ I threaded the wooden dowel rods through one set of the holes so that I could measure where I wanted to cut the dowels.
+ I used a black marker to mark the dowel, then pulled the dowel out and marked the rest of the dowel rods with the same measure mark.
+ I used my kitchen shears to cut the dowels, which turned out to be pretty clean and easy cuts.
+ I used a black marker to mark the dowel, then pulled the dowel out and marked the rest of the dowel rods with the same measure mark.
+ I used my kitchen shears to cut the dowels, which turned out to be pretty clean and easy cuts.
Glue Tissue Paper Onto Box
+ I used the matte Mod Podge to glue the paper to the box. I poured some into a small shallow container and used a foam brush to spread the Mod Podge onto the box, cutting the tissue paper to form.
+ On the sides I cut and glued panels of the tissue paper for a cleaner look.
+ On the tab where the box closed, I used clear packing tape to make sure the tissue paper didn't get damaged when I opened and closed the box.
+ Once I had the box covered with tissue paper, and while the Mod Podge was still wet, I used a small bit of one of the dowel rods to poke from the inside through the tissue paper. Then I used the dowel rod from the outside to push the torn bits back in.
+ On the sides I cut and glued panels of the tissue paper for a cleaner look.
+ On the tab where the box closed, I used clear packing tape to make sure the tissue paper didn't get damaged when I opened and closed the box.
+ Once I had the box covered with tissue paper, and while the Mod Podge was still wet, I used a small bit of one of the dowel rods to poke from the inside through the tissue paper. Then I used the dowel rod from the outside to push the torn bits back in.
Paint Around Holes With Silver Ink
+ After the Mod Podge dried, I used the silver alcohol ink for accent.
+ I squirted a bit of the Silver Ranger Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Ink Mixative into a little cup, and used the little tiny paintbrush to circle the holes (so they resemble eyelets). (This was before I cut the large slits across the length of the box, because I still hadn't looked at my ribbon stash. I plan to go back over the slits with the silver ink later, but I was a little annoyed with myself for my oversight at that point!)
+ After the alcohol ink dried, I coated the whole box with glossy Mod Podge.
+ I squirted a bit of the Silver Ranger Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Ink Mixative into a little cup, and used the little tiny paintbrush to circle the holes (so they resemble eyelets). (This was before I cut the large slits across the length of the box, because I still hadn't looked at my ribbon stash. I plan to go back over the slits with the silver ink later, but I was a little annoyed with myself for my oversight at that point!)
+ After the alcohol ink dried, I coated the whole box with glossy Mod Podge.
Insert Ribbon... Make Adjustments
+ Like I pointed out before, I had to make three of the four rows of holes into large slits. I just used my craft knife and cut through the top and bottom of the holes. I plan to outline the slits with the silver ink later.
+ I threaded the bottom dowels first, adding ribbons and tucking them through the slits. This can be a little cumbersome, but I was pretty dedicated at this point.
+ I had some ribbons/yarns that were not on rolls, so some ribbons I just used a bit of the double-sided sticky tape and made a loop around my fingers, taped it together, and then wound the rest of the ribbon around my fingers. This provided a hole for me to thread the dowel through. Other ribbons/yarns I just laid down between the dowels and threaded through the slits.
+ Where the little holes were cut, I threaded small ribbons, yarns and embroidery flosses. Because there were so many holes, I laid more of the bundles of ribbons and such in the middle between the dowels. They all seem to still pull smoothly enough.
+ I threaded the bottom dowels first, adding ribbons and tucking them through the slits. This can be a little cumbersome, but I was pretty dedicated at this point.
+ I had some ribbons/yarns that were not on rolls, so some ribbons I just used a bit of the double-sided sticky tape and made a loop around my fingers, taped it together, and then wound the rest of the ribbon around my fingers. This provided a hole for me to thread the dowel through. Other ribbons/yarns I just laid down between the dowels and threaded through the slits.
+ Where the little holes were cut, I threaded small ribbons, yarns and embroidery flosses. Because there were so many holes, I laid more of the bundles of ribbons and such in the middle between the dowels. They all seem to still pull smoothly enough.
Finished!
+ In spite of needing to cut slits instead of holes, I think it turned out pretty well! Now I can just grab the box the next time I sit down to make cards!
+ In the last photo, you can see the box to the left, and to the right on top of the cube grid are smaller bits of ribbons stored in containers from HEB that were dry drink mix containers. (I like the ones from HEB because they are clear once you peel the drink mix information off, whereas Walmart ones are putty colored. Those I've also cover in tissue paper!)
+ In the last photo, you can see the box to the left, and to the right on top of the cube grid are smaller bits of ribbons stored in containers from HEB that were dry drink mix containers. (I like the ones from HEB because they are clear once you peel the drink mix information off, whereas Walmart ones are putty colored. Those I've also cover in tissue paper!)