You know, in the old days nearly every woman in the world owned hat boxes. Nowadays, you rarely see the decorative, round boxes unless you’ve been shopping at a costly boutique. In your grandma’s attic, at a yard sale, or even in some boxes in the basement you might find a few hat box lids who have somehow lost their matching boxes. If that’s the case with you don’t even think of throwing the box lids away! Use them to make an organizer for your sewing supplies, your medications or even as a desk organizer. The lids – no matter what size – can be made into a variety of stacked organizers that will help you straighten up your life – well, at least your house!
In case you’ve never seen a hat box they are round, made of thick cardboard, and have a matching lid. The boxes are generally decorated with paper or even thin cloth and are made to hold your latest hat purchase. The boxes, as well as the lids, are very sturdy and perfect for making home organizers. If you have matching hat boxes and lids, you probably won’t want to separate them, but if you have a few lids with no boxes they’re perfect for this project.
How tall or how short you make the organizer is up to you. If you have several hat box lids you can make it much taller than if you only have two or three. The size of the lids can vary. Use lids of all the same size or use assorted sizes to make the organizer. Either way, you’ll still start with a base that will hold the stacked lids. The base can be a square or circle of wood. You’ll find small, shaped wooden pieces at most any craft store. They are not expensive and can be any shape you want. Even if you’re working with large hat boxes the wooden base does not need to be huge. A 5″x7″ piece, or something close to that, works great.
In addition to the hat box lids and the wooden base you’ll also need a wooden dowel. You’ll find these at craft stores or even at a home improvement store. The dowel you use should not be really skinny but doesn’t have to be a jumbo-size dowel. If you’re making a tall organizer you’ll need a long dowel; a shorter version requires a shorter dowel. One that is approximately an inch in diameter will work fine. Paint the dowel and the wooden base or leave them in their unfinished state. Use rubber stamping techniques, stickers or even paint markers, if desired, to create a design or a theme for the base. If the hat box lids don’t match you can make them all look the same by gluing ribbon around the edges. Since you can’t see the bottoms of the lids, unless you hold the organizer way up in the air, the bottoms of the lids don’t have to match.
Glue the dowel to the center of the base and allow the glue to dry or set. Now you’ll begin assembling the organizer by using the hat box lids. Cut a hole in the center of each lid with a knife, scissors or other implement. Make the hole so that you push from the inside of the box lid to the outside of the lid. This is important for the finished look of the organizer. The hole doesn’t have to be perfect; you can even up the edges after you’ve created the initial hole. Slide the first hat box lid onto the dowel and settle it all the way down on the base. Glue it in place. If you’re working with different sizes of hat box lids place the largest one on the dowel first then begin adding the next largest and the next largest. If you’re working with all the same size simply start sliding each lid onto the dowel.
The first hat box lid is glued to the base but the next one has to be suspended on the dowel rod. To do this, you can glue it, or you can use tape. Colored or other tape works well to keep the hat box lid from sliding down the dowel. Simply wrap a piece around the dowel a couple of times, just underneath the hat box lid, and the lid will not slide down. Place the lids on the dowel so that there are large spaces in between to allow for putting things in and out of each hat box lid “tray”.
As you position the last hat box lid on top leave a few inches of the dowel rod sticking up above it. Use this to carry the organizer. If you have the means, you can drill a hole into the dowel, then add a purse handle, rope handle or other handle. If not, it’s easy to carry the organizer by the top dowel piece. You can even glue a ball or other decorative piece on top. Place sewing supplies, medications, spices, makeup, collectible miniatures, and many other things in the stacked organizer. Use it on a kitchen counter, night stand, bathroom, living room table or other areas of the home. They’re easy to make and very useful around the house.
Reference:
- Purchase used hat box lids here: www.ebay.com
