Introducing Shredalina and Her New Outfit

I am into this really big kick of getting creative with things that I have and really trying to cut down on the amount of items that are new that I bring into the house. So when I saw a brand new, fully operational, never been opened paper shredder sitting in its box of a local thrift store for $15, I did my little happy dance. I have been procrastinating on buying a paper shredder forever, since the cheapest one I could find of suitable size was $40. Not too bad, but $40 can buy so much fun stuff, and paper shredders just aren’t that fun to buy. Or so I thought. Until I got my hands on one. Anyways, this grand little paper shredder didn’t make it too far into the house before we got her out of her box and tested her out. And there she stayed for a few weeks in her “test” spot.

Yup, in the kitchen, because that makes sense. (No it doesn’t!) I couldn’t even open that cabinet all the way. It made more sense for her, wait, let’s give her a name first: Shredalina. Ahh, better. It made more sense for Shredalina to move into the Mego Cave office area, which is still close enough to the mail drop spot (aka the kitchen counter) for prompt shredding time. But I didn’t want to go all willy nilly again and just throw her in there. I wanted to dress her up, which is especially important since all the shelving in there is open. Working on perhaps getting some more closed storage in there. But for now, everything that goes on a shelf needs to be pretty!
I was brainstorming some ideas with the hubs, talking about building boxes and the like, when he came up with the genius idea. He said, “Why don’t you just use the box it came in?” Umm, duhhh! I know it fits in there perfectly! And no, it’s not pretty yet, but I was talking about building a box and then painting it/stenciling it/papering it/etc. All these things can be done with cardboard! My goal was simple: to create a pretty outfit for Shredalina without spending a dime. Yup, using what I have folks!
So I gathered all my supplies, not really knowing what direction I was going to go in. I thought I would let the outfit come organically. My first step was to use a box cutter to get rid of the flaps. Shredalina’s head would be poking out of her outfit so it was easy to use at all times.

Then I covered the entire box with brown paper, just like I was wrapping a present. I did this because the box was pretty busy with lots of words, pictures, and colors, and I knew that most paper or fabric would be semi-sheer and the ugliness of the box would show through. The brown paper gave me a clean slate.

Then I got around to the fun part: trying to figure out how to make it pretty. I thought I could perhaps use the brown paper and then just tie some ribbons around it or make stripes with wrapping paper. But that wasn’t feeling too sophisticated for me. The paper I had on hand wasn’t a print I wanted to look at over and over again. So I moved on to fabric. I pulled out my scraps and my rolls and was pleasantly surprised when one scrap leftover from my mini-blinds Roman Shades fit the box perfectly, no cutting needed. Wahoo! Decision made.

Once again I wrapped the box like a present, using the fabric and fabric glue (instead of tape) to adhere to the paper. It worked like a charm! Oh look how pretty she is (and not naked in the kitchen now)!

I tried her a few spots in the Mego Cave. First she started in the front, and then I moved her onto one of the shelves. She fit perfectly; still functional yet tucked away. I love it!

I think cardboard boxes are my new go-to for projects now. They are free (when you scavenge for them), come in multiple sizes, and are easy to cover. This may be the beginning of many happy projects down the road. Although it makes me think about what would have happened if one of the little piggies had built a home made out of cardboard. The wolf probably could have huffed and puffed it down. I’ll try not to get too carried away so my home doesn’t become based on cardboard!

Sharing This Post Here:

• Thrifty Décor Chic