Washi Tape Storage Boxes

Last Updated on January 13, 2018 by lydiaf1963

I don’t fuss much with makeup but I do have some and wear it on a regular basis. I needed a place to not only store it, but also make it convenient to use. I recently made a couple storage boxes using recycled materials to organize my cosmetics and decorated them with washi tape. Making something with tape was part of this month’s Creative Craft Bloggers Challenge.

I’ve seen other crafters use toilet paper tubes to keep their pens and pencils organized. I figured that would work well for tubes, pencils and brushes. For makeup in cases, I built a second box to keep them contained on the IKEA Bekvam spice rack Rick painted and installed for me. It has a bar to keep items in place on the shelf. We have a second one in the shower to hold shampoo and other things.

Lightweight cardboard works well for this project. It’s easy to work with and this time of year it’s also easy to find.

Materials and Equipment Needed to Make Washi Tape Storage Boxes

• lightweight cardboard (I recycled a couple plain wine shipping boxes)
• toilet paper tubes
• paint, decorative paper or fabric
• washi tape and other decorative elements
• ruler
• box cutter or scissors
• glue or masking tape

The cardboard I used was corrugated, about 1mm thick and since it was plain I chose not to paint it or cover it with fabric. Since these boxes are intended to keep things in place rather than transport them, I believe a thinner cardboard like a cereal box or even a manila folder could work.

In the end, I didn’t use everything shown in the photo above, but you might want to use them or something similar in your project.

How to Construct Your Washi Tape Boxes

Measure the depth of the shelf, and subtract enough to allow the box to fit without squeezing it into place. Then decide on the height of the sides and the width you need to store your items. My first box was 8 cm deep x 10.5 cm wide x 6 cm tall. The bar on the Bekvam shelf had a slight bow in it that I didn’t account for so the second box was 7.5 cm deep x 7.5 cm wide x 6 cm tall.

Once you have your measurements cut the cardboard into rectangles to form the sides and bottom of the box. For the larger one the measurements were:

• Bottom (Cut 1) 8 x 10.5 cm
• Long Sides (Cut 2) 10.5 x 6 cm
• Short Sides (Cut 2) 8 x 6 cm

Then assemble the box. I used a white masking tape on the inside of the box to hold the sides together and to attach the bottom of the box to the sides.

Cut the toilet paper tubes to length and use masking tape to form them into a unit. Four tubes fit into the longer box with some room to spare on the sides.

Use the washi tape to decorate the box. I used it to hide the side and bottom seams and around the top edge. I was able to find several types of decorative tapes as shown in the phots and saved the really shiny ones for other projects.

Put the tubes inside the box and fill with your makeup, brushes, etc.

I’m not sure if I like the way these turned out as far as their style goes, but I’m happy with their functionality. I can easily access all my items without having to dig around in a bag. One nice thing about recycled crafts is there’s always plenty of raw material if you’d like another go.

Washi tape was easy to work with and I was able to find a variety of patterns after searching in a few stores. There’s a wider selection on Amazon but I don’t want to buy too much. Keeping my yarn supply under control is already a challenge!

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Be sure to visit the other projects in the challenge:

2 Dishing Divas Duck Tape Braided Bracelet

Try it – Like it – Create it Washi Tape Manicure

Home Crafts by Ali Easy Washi Tape Decorated Notebook

5 Little Monsters Washi Tape Valentine Bookmarks