Just about every room in your home needs some sort of storage. Whether it’s an office, den, play room or kid’s room, there never seems to be enough places to store all of your belongings or display some of your favorite photos or other treasures. While there are plenty of readymade storage units that are fairly affordable, most are merely functional and are lacking that something special.
If you find a perfect storage piece but just don’t think it has enough visual interest, try giving it a new look by covering it in 12x12 sheets of colorful scrapbook paper using Mod Podge craft glue. Scrapbook paper can be a great medium for many projects other than scrapbooks. It often comes in a perforated book or packet where all of the different sheets of paper will have a similar theme or color combinations and patterns that work really well together. This is what makes them great for piecing together for a larger project.
Start by picking a location for your storage piece and deciding on a theme or color combination. It may help to visit a local craft store for inspiration and to see what types of paper they have in stock. Of course, don’t forget to check the clearance section of the store since these papers can often be found on sale depending on the theme and the season. It’s a good idea to measure the surface area of your piece before you buy, otherwise you might end up running back to the store.
Once you have your paper, you could start laying out all of the various sheets to decide which will go where. However, if you’ve purchased a themed or color coordinated pack of paper, you could just start covering the piece since it’s likely all of the sheets will look good in any combination. If the piece you are covering is large, it may be best to start in the middle and work your way to the outside edges. This will help keep your design balanced.
If you are unsure of your design, you could use a bit of masking tape to hold pieces in place before you commit to gluing them down. Once you are happy with your design, start attaching the paper by putting a coat of Mod Podge on the furniture and then smoothing the paper into place. After the entire piece is covered and the glue is dry, give the outside of the paper a light coat of Mod Podge using a foam brush. Be careful not to overwork the glue as it could damage the paper if it gets too wet or if it is brushed too much. Also, as long as you use only a light coating of the glue, there’s no need to worry about any slight bubbling in the paper as it will flatten out on its own once the glue dries.
You now have a storage unit that is not only functional but looks great in the room. This same technique could be used to cover an old table or even a small section of an accent wall. Take a look around your home to see what other pieces you have that could use a new look.
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