I’ve got a confession to make…I love school supplies. Ever since I was a young child, I can remember going back to school shopping and agonizing over which Trapper Keeper (haha, I’m dating myself, here) to get and if the mechanical pencils that matched it would last for the entire school year. Notebooks, scissors, pens and rulers…I love it all and to this day get excited when I get to stock up on new supplies. So while I was taking care of my kid’s lists this past week, I couldn’t help myself. I had to grab some supplies of some kind and create a fun project with them. And that is how this sweet ruler box was born.
This was a super simple DIY and ended up costing $7 total. Between cutting and gluing, it took me about thirty minutes to complete, just enough time to watch a DVRed show. I picked up a paper mache box from the craft store and twenty wood rulers from the office supply store. The rulers were 20 cents a piece, so I didn’t feel like I was breaking the bank too much. 🙂
I used my miter saw (because it is seriously my absolute, hands down, favorite tool in the garage) and stacked 4 rulers at a time to cut down to size. My box was 6×6″ so the cuts were pretty straightforward. I knew that I would need to piece some of them together to cover all of the sides, so I also cut six pieces at 1 1/2.” All cut lengths would be dependent upon the size of the box you are covering, so make sure to take measurements before cutting.
While I was cutting, I noticed that the plastic spacers were coming out of the ruler. No biggie at all, I just went ahead and pulled them out entirely.
Most of them just slid right out without any effort, but a couple were wedged in pretty tightly. You could always leave those ones, or do what I did and grab a small screwdriver to force it out.
I did a dry fit of my ruler pieces on each side and picked them up one a time to glue them. It just helps me feel like I won’t get one piece too crooked or crazy if I have them all laid out.
Just a dollop of hot glue will do ya.
For some visual excitement, I decided to do two sides of my box with vertical ruler pieces and two sides with horizontal. I also pieced sizes together for the horizontal sides to vary it up. I liked the different looks, but you could always stick with just one.
When I started working on this, I had planned to use it to store some of the kid’s school supplies for homework. A little something like this…
But then I thought that it would be absolutely adorable to give to a teacher with a plant or flowers in it. What a fun back to school gift!
Either way, I just love it and the chance to reminisce each time that I see it. What’s your vote: school supply holder or planter?
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