Whether you’re purchasing soft drinks in glass bottles, or beer in bottles, you’ll often find that they come in a handy cardboard carrier with a compartment for each bottle. These cardboard carriers are perfect for creating a sectioned storage tote for your various art supplies.
Adhesive paper makes it easy to cover the beer or drink carton so that no one can tell what it used to be. Cut the various sections: handle, front, back, sides. Peel away the backing and stick the paper to the carton.
Instead of adhesive paper you can use decoupage adhesive which works great with paper. Use a sponge brush to apply the adhesive then affix the paper. You’ll find fabulous scrapbook papers, at a craft store, that will allow you to select just the right colors or patterns.
The sections of the cardboard carrier are perfect for holding paint brushes, ruler, markers, colored pencils, stapler, chalk, crayons, water colors, rolls of stickers, and much more. Make the carrier for an adult or a child – both will find it useful and fun.
Add additional pockets on the outside of the carton. Cut the ends off of small boxes, cover them in adhesive paper, and glue them to the fronts of each compartment. When you cut the end off a box that has no lid you’re left with a partial bottom and two partial sides, along with the entire front. These partial boxes can be glued around the original carton to hold smaller items like erasers, beads, pins, toothpicks or other supplies.
Small disposable bathroom cups are another way to add additional storage to the art supply carrier. Cut the cups from the edge, down the side, across the bottom then back up the other side. These half cups can be glued onto the handled carton and give you much more storage room.
Even empty cigarette boxes can be used to add extra storage to the carrier. Remove the lid and cellophane from the cigarette box. Cover the boxes in paper or adhesive shelf liner. Attach the boxes to various positions on the outer carton. The boxes are great for holding sponges, cotton balls or cotton swabs.
You’ll find all sorts of miniatures and other embellishments to make the carrier all your own. Glue on fake jewels, bows, ribbon, roping, buttons, foil cutouts, small wooden shapes, ceramic or rubber novelties, scrapbook embellishments and other choices.
Glue on wooden letters to spell your name or use stickers to spell “Art Supplies”. Personalize the carrier by choosing an assortment of embellishments that help you develop a certain theme or ones that just give you colors and shapes you enjoy.
Cover the cardboard carrier with the fabric or adhesive paper then allow children to decorate the art carriers themselves. They’ll have a fabulous time using their art supplies to decorate their art supply carrier. Perfect for artists of any age the cardboard carrier can be tedious to cover but will hold a huge supply of art needs for kids or adults.
The next time you purchase drinks that come in a six pack cardboard carton save the box to create yet another carrier. They can hold much more than art supplies, including sewing supplies, small tools, beauty supplies, baby needs and much more.
Reference:
- Purchase six packs of drinks here: www.amazon.com
