Sustainable Faux-Leather Storage Box

I’ve always been one of those people that saves everything and anything that remotely resembles an art or craft supply for the possibility of it being used in a future project. Some of these poor, neglected materials sometimes sit around for ages waiting for their shining moment and today, thank the stars, the “Creative Bug” strikes again!!!

What will we be doing, you ask??  We are going to control the chaos that hoarding saving all these things has created!  And, if you are anything like me, you will most likely already have everything you need just laying around on one of the countless piles covering every surface in your flat.

The idea today is simple; we’ll be transforming a plain ol’ boring shoebox (or something similar) into a fancy-pants faux-leather storage container.  If you recently bought yourself a brand-spanking-new pair of vegan leather shoes and saved the box then you’re in luck. No box? No worries!  Choose something here and get cracking.

Aside from that, you’ll need paper grocery bags, glue, paint, and a couple of brushes (both to apply the glue and for the paint). That’s it, can't get any easier than that!!

In part two we'll decorate our box even further and we'll explore other materials but for now, let's get started!

Materials

Box - Shoebox or similar

Brown Paper Bags or Kraft Paper

Adhesive - You have many options here but the key is that you should be able to easily brush it on. I am using PVA glue but you can use something made specifically for decoupaging, Mod Podge, or even wood glue (keep in mind that this may not dry clear). Just don't use a Pritt stick, you need your glue to be wet and spreadable!!

Paint - One colour is enough but if you want more dimension I'd choose one or two more in the same family. I think acrylics are a great option for this project but the idea is that you use what you have at home so don't worry too much if you don't have this type of paint. Actually, you can even use shoe polish!!

Brushes - One for painting and one for glue. I have an assorted pack that includes foam brushes, those are very inexpensive and you won't be too sad if you forget to rinse them off once finished!

Paper towels or a rag

Instructions

Step 1 - Gather all your materials and select the box you want to use.

Step 2 - Tear your paper bags in large-ish but manageable pieces. IMPORTANT: Make sure you don't have any straight edges left!

Step 3 - Crumple all your pieces of paper into little balls and open them back up. You want lots of creases and wrinkles so repeat this process as many times as you want until you're happy with the result; I did it twice.

Step 4 - Now comes the fun part! Apply some glue to your box, a section at a time, and adhere the paper to it. Be sure to overlap the pieces a little so every inch of your box gets covered. If you find it hard to spread the glue, you can add a little bit of water to make it runnier. IMPORTANT: Don't overdo it or it will take forever for it to dry!

Step 5 - Once the glue has dried it's time to paint. Thin down your paint with some water and apply it to your box, again, work in sections. Use your rag or paper towel to dab the excess and build up the colour until you get the desired effect. You can do this with a single colour of paint or, if you have more, alternate your paints to achieve a more distressed, worn out look. PRO TIP: If you find that the paint is drying too fast and you can't remove it easily, sprinkle some water on your paper before applying the paint.

Step 6 - Let this fully dry and apply one last coat of glue. Trust me, it makes all the difference!

Step 7 - Voilà!  Your beautiful faux-leather box is ready to be filled with pens, markers, trinkets, or whatever else you can think of.  Now go make another one...or three... and before you know it you'll have a beautifully organised home.