DIY Network

Customized Supply Caddy

Cathie Filian and Steve Piacenza, cohosts of Creative Juice, share a fun technique for designing a shipping caddy.

advertisement

This handy train case that was purchased from an auction for $4 is decorated with vintage stamps and a hotel label and can be customized with your initials.

Decorated train case as good at home as online

By Cathie Filian and Steve Piacenza

Aug. 28, 2006—Online auctions have gone crafty.

Not only can you purchase tons of great craft supplies like vintage and fancy beads, designer fabrics and every scrapbooking item ever made, but DIYers also are selling their handmade goods and heading straight to the bank. You can scoop up everything from stunning jewelry to artists' trading cards to punky T-shirts.

For the auction seller I have designed this handy supplies caddy from an old train case I purchased, at auction, for $4. It is decorated with vintage stamps and hotel labels and can be customized with your initials. It is the perfect place to store all your shipping supplies such as packing tape, scissors, address labels, twine, stamps and an address book. Not only is this a great project for the crafty seller, but it also makes a great mini-office for a college student or a greeting card caddy for mom.

This project is simple to make, and the final product is fun, funky and fashionable. Best of all, it's a time saver. So have a blast designing your shipping caddy and feel free to e-mail pictures of your creations to E-mail: imadethis@cathieandsteve.com.

Materials:

vintage "train case" suitcases
large assortment of stamps
color copies of hotel labels
decoupage medium
foam paintbrush
tag punch
sticker letters

Steps:

1. Clean the train case with a damp cloth or a spray cleaner if needed. You can place a dryer sheet in the case for a fresh scent, if you like. Stamps can be bought in bulk from online auctions for just a few dollars, and hotel labels can be found in copyright-free clip-art books.

2. To apply the stamps and labels, use the foam brush and decoupage medium to glue the stamps and hotel labels to the train case. I overlapped the stamps and labels in a random pattern. Allow to dry.

Personalizing ideas: Use a tag punch to create small tags—one for each letter of a name or one for each initial. Decide where you want your monogram to be, and glue the tags in the desired position by using decoupage medium and a foam brush. Allow to dry. Apply the letter sticker over the glued tags to spell out the name or the initials. You can add additional details like ribbons to the handles.

Fill with shipping supplies such as stamps, tape, markers, scissors and address labels.

(Cathie Filian and Steve Piacenza cohost Creative Juice. For more information log on to www.cathiefilian.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)

Get DIY On Your TV. Just follow the instructions to see if DIY Network is available through your cable or satellite provider.