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My eldest baby daughter went on a school trip to New York City last month. She was excited when she was able to squeeze a quick shopping trip to Zara into the very busy schedule they had.
After about 2 weeks, I noticed that she kept the shopping bag from Zara sitting in her room rather than throwing it into the recycle. I realized that she was enjoying seeing the bag because it reminded her of her amazing trip to NYC and her fun shopping trip. Right then I decided that I had to find something special to do with that simple shopping bag. A day or two later, my daughter asked if I had a bin or tub she could use to store her knit hats in.
Bing! Light bulb moment.
I found a Costco cardboard box in my pantry that was almost exactly the size of the shopping bag.
I pulled the extra pieces of cardboard off so that I ended up with a smooth box. That way there wouldn’t be any bumps distracting from the simple lines of the box and bag.
I trimmed the bag on the side to fit the box. I just eyeballed all the measurements. It took at little fiddling, but I made sure that all of the design fit on the face of the box. Then I used Mod Podge lightly on the inside of the paper to stick it to the box. I was careful not to use too much of the Mod Podge because I wanted the brown paper bag to keep it’s texture and color. I didn’t want Mod Podge on the outside of the bag to change the bag’s look.
There are a few marks and stains on the paper bag (they look darker in this picture than they do in person). Those marks are from my daughter’s adventure through NYC.
When I first finished the box, I was disappointed by the marks and stains. But when I looked a second time, I realized that the marks and stains are part of the story of my daughter’s trip, Then I decided that the project turned out well.
My daughter was charmed with the keepsake of her trip when I surprised her with it.
She quickly put it to work and the box works perfectly to organize her knit hats.
Pretty successful solution to hat organization. Plus, it’s a fun keepsake for my daughter. Plus, it was free (minus the cost of a school trip to NYC).
I’m a mom of 3, a veteran, military spouse. I’ve moved into 20+ homes all around the world. My passion is helping busy people make the space and time for what’s really important to them. Learn more about Organized 31 and me.
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10 Comments
Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week; I hope you’ll join us again! Kathy Shea Mormino The Chicken Chick
What a great organizational idea! Great way to remind yourself of a fun shopping trip too!
Forgive me for being so late to thank you for linking up to the In and Out of the Kitchen party! I just got back from vacation and am trying to play catch up!
See you next week at the In and Out of the Kitchen party!
Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week; I hope you’ll join us again! Kathy Shea Mormino The Chicken Chick
That’s a really great way to remember a fun trip!
You are such a sweet mom!!!
What a great organizational idea! Great way to remind yourself of a fun shopping trip too!
Forgive me for being so late to thank you for linking up to the In and Out of the Kitchen party! I just got back from vacation and am trying to play catch up!
See you next week at the In and Out of the Kitchen party!
Cynthia
Perfect way to preserve some memories and add function at the same time! Thank you for sharing at Funday Monday Sylvia
Fun!!
This is such a cute idea! I love it! What a nice surprise and a great way to preserve the memories!
Just wanted to let you know that your Storage box was the Craft Favorite at the In and Out of the Kitchen link party! Contratulations.
I have pinned it and shared it on my facebook page.
I hope you come back tonight at 7:00 p.m. and link up more crafts, recipes, DIY projects or etsy shops!
Thanks, Cynthia at
Love this!! What a cool idea!Thanks so much for sharing this at Artsy Corner 🙂
Fun idea for keeping those bags you love. Thanks for sharing & linking up @ DearCreatives.com Hope your having a great week!