Thirfty Thursday: Repurposing Post Office Boxes for Scrapbook Paper Storage

It's Van here with another Thrifty Thursday post on how I store my 12x12 scrapbook paper. 

Now I love my patterned paper as much as the next scrapper but it is a pain figuring out cheap and affordable ways to store it.  All the fancy paper storage solutions available at the crafting stores look fantastic.  But in all honesty, I'd rather spend my money buying more paper than boxes.  So after perusing the internet awhile back, I came up with a completely free solution - USPS Medium Sized Flat Rate Boxes.

They are large enough to hold 12x12 paper and you can customize the boxes to fit your needs.  I personally stack my boxes to store the paper flat and here is how I do it.

Step 1.  Get some flat rate boxes.  It's all actually amazingly simple because you can order the boxes from the US Postal Service website and have the boxes delivered right to your door!

Step 2.   Assemble the boxes.  It goes without saying that the boxes will arrive at your doorstep (or you can pick them up at the post office) flat.  So follow the instructions and assemble the boxes. 

Step 3.  Cut the box.  Here's a photo of where you should make your cuts for flat paper storage.

You'll end up with something like this...

Then just stack them up and fill them with paper!  We live in a pretty small apartment which is hurting for storage.  So my boxes sit stacked up in the closet like this.

Definitely not the prettiest thing in the world, but it works for me.  I've seen people cover these boxes with paper to pretty them up.  But I'm basically can't be bothered (especially they sit inside the closet.) 

If you're looking for a vertical paper storage solution, check out this blog post.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Featured Designer - Van Nguyen

I'm so excited to be this week's featured designer!  I'm hoping that Woodgrain Mustache becomes your go-to place for crafty inspiration.  I know that all the designers contributing to this blog have inspired me with their amazing creations and talents. 

I started scrapbooking about a year ago while still on maternity leave with my one and only baby girl - Charlotte.  As I like to tell my friends, I fell hard and fast for this hobby.  It is a way for me to preserve amazing memories while playing with pretty paper and embellishments.  Call it grown up craft hour.  As a student of history, I also love that I am somehow chronicling our family's stories.  When I finally finished Charlotte's first year album a few weeks ago, I felt as proud as when I completed my college senior thesis. 

Here are two of my all-time favorite layouts:

First Easter.  The inspiration for this layout was the Mid Week Mojo sketch #46 by Kristy Lee (over at scrapbooksteals.com).  Most of the paper is from We Are Memory Keepers Hippity Hoppity.  I think my favorite element in this layout is the banner along the middle.  And it was the perfect excuse to use up some brads I got from the Target $1 bins years ago. 

Our Family Portrait.  This layout was recently featured on my guest design post for scrapbooksteals.com (which can be found here).  I got to play with the Hello Sunshine collection by American Crafts.  I think that Hello Sunshine may be my all time favorite collection.  So stunning and the style is distinctively me.  And I must be a sucker for banners because my favorite element on this page is the string of lanterns along the top.  I fussy cut the lanterns from printed kraft paper.  To create the sense of twinkling lights, I swirled some white paint (using a paint dauber) behind each lantern and then sprayed the white swirls with glimmer mist.

If you're so inclined, you can visit me on my blog, Like the Car where I ramble on about Charlotte, crafts, cooking and whatever else is on my mind.

Thanks for stopping by and we hope you visit again and again!