It’s been quite a while since I first pinned these nesting neon boxes by Kate Spade on my Pinterest “future projects” board. They’re not for sale anymore but they’re still absolutely desirable, especially now that spring is coming. It wasn’t until last week that I finally decided to repurpose some old storage boxes that were part of my office, and give them that Kate Spade look. After painting a couple of them, I realized how easy it actually is to paint on cardboard, and decided to experiment on some more items. The result? A little “stationary line” of mine, that I absolutely love, all inspired by the vibrant colors and the golden strip by Kate Spade.
I started with the memory boxes that I already had. I first removed the metal bookplates and kept them for possible use on future projects.
With a mini sponge roller that I dipped and rolled into a paint tray, I applied perfect coats of paint on the cardboard surface. Two coats were about enough for the plain boxes and Kraft paper covered ones (not shown above), but I needed a couple more for the boxes with the more vivid colors and patterns.
Once the boxes and lids were completely dry, I added some metallic gold tape around the lower part of the lid.
I spray painted in gold some new large adhesive metal bookplates that I bought, and then placed them on each box. These were slightly larger than the original ones and just big enough to cover the holes that were left on the front side of each box.
The contrast of the bright colors with the gold shiny strip is absolutely beautiful!
In a drawer I found quite a few old fashioned grey-brown hanging files. I spray painted their exposed metallic bracket ends in gold and used the exact same way to apply a few coats of paint. I placed the metallic tape at about the same height from the top to match the boxes’ lids.
I also found in some drawer a good quality smaller box that used to hold a bar soap and I painted that one, too, after removing the stickers and twine, of course.
It will be now perfect to store smaller items.
These cards below are cut out of sturdy paper and are painted with the exact same technique. Aren’t they lovely? I can’t wait for the occasion to write a little note!
Here are the four colors (Martha Stewart craft paint) that I used to cover the boxes as well as the other items. The shades of orange and purple are such a bright, happy and matching combination!
I already started storing some office supplies in the boxes. This one holds pens and pencils that were bought in bulk. I will use the others for photos and maybe other stationary supplies.
This smaller box is perfect for storing these jumbo binder clips.
I almost forgot! My daughter had an old cardboard desk organizer, very convenient for storing her frequently used school notes, but it had a pattern that looked best a few years ago. I did not take a “before” picture but the bottom part of the box remains unpainted, so here it is for you to see.
And this is how it is transformed now. It got a light blue remake that will match the rest of the decor in her college dorm. I couldn’t resist making her a couple of blue boxes, too!
Materials
- Memory/Photo Storage Boxes – Michaels and/or other sturdy paper or cardboard items
- Mini Sponge Roller – Michaels
- Small paint tray – The Home Depot
- Martha Stewart craft paint in satin finish – Michaels
- Martha Stewart Adhesive Metal Bookplates, large, 1-7/16 in x 3-1/16 in – Staples
- Gold spray paint
- Scotch Expressions Gold Metallic Tape – Paper Source
how easy was it to pry off the original bookplates without ripping the boxes?
Hi Tia,
The kind of bookplates shown on the left were easy to remove (the ones that leave 4 little dents on the box). For the ones on the right, I had to pull harder and I also ripped some of the paper (it shows on the pic) but it all got covered with the new bookplates.
I used a knife with a strong blade that would not bend (shown).
Love the bright colors on these boxes.. They look super cute