Make It Monday - Create a Desk Organizer from Recycled Materials

Check it out!  I have hit a phase in life where I just want to organize stuff.  I really like having things in their designated places. I have notebooks and pens on my bedside table for making notes and jotting down ideas. But my table is so small, I was thinking I needed an organizer to contain it all.  Of course I checked my "recycle" box and found everything I needed to whip one up.  

For this project I used:

• 2 cereal boxes
• 3 Toilet Tissue Tubes
• White craft paper
• Patterned Duct Tape
• Sequin Trim Ribbon
• Hot Glue
• Scrapbook Paper
• Medicine bottle lids

This project can be altered in so many ways by using only one cereal box, or using one wider box. Since I wanted two compartments, I decided to use two of the large cereal boxes. I measured and cut the cereal boxes to the same height, then covered them with the craft paper. You could use contact paper, wrapping paper or even all scrapbook paper for this part.
I have a large roll of white craft paper, so I chose that.  I also covered my toilet tissue tubes with the same paper.

Once everything was covered I used binder clips to hold my two boxes together exactly where I wanted them. Removing one side at a time, I added hot glue to adhere them together.  

I found this really neat patterned duct tape and sequined ribbon at the Dollar Tree.  I wrapped a strip of the duct tape around the bottom of both boxes and also added a strip to the top of each toilet tissue roll. 

To cover the sides I cut some scrapbook paper to fit and glued a piece onto all four sides. I added a strip of the sequined ribbon along the top edge of the whole box and then glued the three toilet tissue rolls to one end of the box.

After I was done I realized there was no bottom to the tubes to hold the pens and pencils in so I used a medicine bottle lid, because it fit perfectly inside the tube. 

Turning the box over, I used a generous amount of hot glue to adhere them to the bottoms of the tubes. Although it doesn't look great from the bottom, it worked perfectly. No one is gonna see the bottom anyway.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!  And it only cost about $2 to make! It's gonna look great on Tori's desk.  Now I gotta make another one for me!