Something Old, Something New - BBA June Challenge 2013

Each month, the Blogging Business Artisans Team hosts a challenge.  This month's BBA challenge was from Cynthia of  Antiquity Travelers. The June challenge was to take something old and make it new -- upcycling! So-- here's my project:

As some of you know, I've resolved to find new ways to use up scraps.  They seem to multiply in my sewing room while I sleep.    But I love fabric, and I just can't bear to throw scraps away.  So I knew that my response to this month's challenge would involve scrap fabric.

I discovered a tutorial for a Boucherouite Blush Box on the Art Gallery Fabrics blog.  The instructions were from I Heart Linen. The finished size of the box was 4" x 5.5" (10.16 cm x 14 cm).  And the supplies were all items I had on hand--even the 501 Spray Adhesive, which I'd been meaning to try.

I'd need cardboard or card stock, so I decided to upcycle cereal boxes that I usually recycle:

And I'd also need batting.  I have lots of Warm & Natural batting scraps left over from oven mitt making!

And although I have bucket loads of scraps, I decided to use some very pretty LillyBelle by Bari J. pink floral fabric scraps, and some coordinating Oval Elements fabric by Art Gallery Fabrics.  I'd originally purchased that fabric from Jennie C. of Glam Fabrics for some special request floral oven mitts.  (I had to piece one of the longer rectangles.)

I needed five 5" circles, so I used the top of one of my small kitchen canisters for a template.  I also needed cardboard strips of varying lengths to create a round cardboard trinket box and lid:

Then I cut the pretty fabric.  I needed a 6" circle for the fabric pieces, so I used a larger kitchen canister lid for that template, and I was able to rotary cut around it fairly well.

Next came the box assembly -- taping strip ends together with masking tape to create circles -- one wide circle and one narrow circle -- and saving the other two pieces for later.  (This is where I wished I had started with "fresh" cardboard that didn't have creases from the cereal box corners.)  Then, a cardboard circle was taped onto the "rims" I'd just created -- except they didn't fit.  The circles were 1/2" smaller than the rim. Hmm.  Untape the rims.  Trim.  Retape. Try again.  OK, better.

Four 5" batting circles were placed on top of my cardboard lid, and then one of the floral fabric circles was pulled down over the adhesive-sprayed rim, and glued in place.  Then another cardboard circle was covered with lining fabric.  The clipped edges were glued to the wrong side of the cardboard, and the circle was glued into place to form the inside of the lid top.

Then came the box assembly.  The box was covered, the inside was created, and a bottom fabric-covered circle was glued to the bottom of the box.  Here's what the inside of the trinket box looked like.  

(Notice the gap on the outer fabric?  I'm not happy with that.  I think I will stitch that with needle and thread.

Then, on goes the lid, and there you have it:  An upcycled trinket box!  Something new from scraps and old cereal boxes.  No new fabrics or supplies were used in this project.

I am not happy enough with my end result to give this to my granddaughter, as I'd originally planned.  But I've learned a few things from this project:

1.  501 Basting Spray is a product I would definitely use again.

2.  Cereal boxes are probably not the best choice of material when creating circular cardboard rims.

3.  The side of the box, which is fabric glued directly onto cardboard needs a middle layer, I think -- either fusible interfacing or light batting.  If I make another one of these, I'll make that modification.

4.  Although this may have been a cost-effective project (FREE is as cheap as it gets),  it was very time intensive.  I had hoped that trinket boxes might be something I could make for Fall craft fairs, perhaps in a scaled down version.  But, as my former neighbor Cindy would say, "It takes a whole lot of dingin' around" to make one of these!!   

So -- I need to keep looking for other ways to use up my heap of scraps.  

TTFN

LeAnn aka pasqueflower

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