Lil' Princess Box

I know I recently shared my large over-the-door jewelry cabinet with you.  But, I wanted to share the mini-version my father made for my nieces for the holidays.

This hooks right to the wall and stores all of the cute little beads and charms a little princess accumulates.

Like my larger version...my father lined the door with hooks to hang necklaces, he connected a section of dowels with hinges that swings out to hang bracelets, he also cubed the bottom and added pink fabric as a liner.

Admittedly, I don't have a saw or powerful sander around the house.  But you might...so I'm passing along all the little homemade projects I can, just in case!!

P.S.  My father signs the back of each craft, so years from now my nieces can be reminded that their grandpa made that cute little cabinet for them.  Love those kind of gifts ;-)

Sand it Smooth

Do not fear the woodworking section ladies.  Go there.  If you like to buy inexpensive unfinished woodwork in the craft store, you know these little drawers can be fixed up into beautiful gifts.  But, they are very rough around the edges. 

The first few times I bought raw shelves or shadowboxes, I have to admit, I just stained them and added my decorations.  Then, I started a project while visiting my father and he was aghast that I didn't plan to sand down the bumpy and dented corners of the wood.  He dug through his tool shelf and pulled out a thin piece of sandpaper.  I ran the paper along the surface of my tiny drawers and the smooth transformation made all the difference.

You don't need a big powerful electric sander for everything.  For very small items you can buy thin sheets of sandpaper.  Fold it to get into creases and wrap it around corners.  It is flexible and incredibly easy to use.

If you have a long and flat surface, it may be easier to buy a handle that you can attach the sandpaper to, giving you a solid grip.  These are good for surfaces that you need to run over repeatedly with a little more force.  You can buy sheets of sandpaper at any hardware store.  Don't skip the sanding step.  It gives your project a professional looking finish that you can be more proud of.  If you're curious to see how my project turned out...I stained my drawers, added paper with modge-podge, embellished with flowers, and personalized the gifts with wooden letters for a few of friends.  Each gift cost under $10 to make and my friends loved them for storing buttons or brads and lots of other scrapbooking odds and ends.