Living in a Box *singing*

Hi, Y'all! 

Do you remember that 90ies song "Living in a Box" by the band with the same name (not very fancy, right?). Although I don't like the song very much, it sunk its' hooks in my brain and won't go away - bummer! But I digress...

In one of my last posts I told you about my diy projects still on my to do list. Some of them are finished right now, but one project took me quite some time and therefore, I only showed you first pictures. My goal was to find a second life for that huge pile of packing material which occurred during our relocation. I guess, the moving company will take back the 50 or more cardboard boxes which are lingering idly in our basement right now. But I don't think they have a special need for all the packing paper. Moreover, I wanted some boxes exactly fitting in my shelf rack.

Here you find Heinrich on some of the said paper - no special purpose, only to increase the cuteness factor: 

I took two larger plastic boxes which turned a little unstable over time and stabilized them with some adhesive tape. Then I made two boxes from cardboard which exactly fit into my shelf. I covered all four containers with paper and a healthy dose of wallpaper glue - classic paper maché technique.  

Afterwards, I cut paper in stripes, crushed and twisted them in order to braid them easily. Well, and then I braided and braided and braided - you can call me Rapunzel, now! In my first attempt I took a heavy duty paper and wider stripes. That was way faster, but I didn't like the optics - wasn't delicate enough for my liking: 

Therefore, the triathlon (cutting, crushing, braiding) had to start again, but this time with the finer paper. Looks waaaaaay better: 

To avoid waiting for normal household glue to dry, I connected the braids with hot glue. To make the boxes extra sturdy, I covered them again with a layer of wallpaper glue. Because of the several drying periods, this is no fast finished project. But as I had time on hand, that was no problem... 

To add some finishing touches to the boxes, I made some faux leather handles and fixed them with Chicago screws. Looks very classy, don't you think? I wouldn't pack them with a lot of heavy stuff and carry them by the handles; they are definitely not made to carry firewood inside (especially since they are from paper and cardboard). But they surely fit my purposes perfectly, and I think they are really pretty. 

Do you like them, too?

Stay safe and sane and have a nice time!!!