Ok, back to the subject at hand, the mini storage unit/chest. I can't take any credit for the design of this because just as before with the tower, I used Jenny Potter's instructions and pattern. She is from Jen's Joint, or Ozegran.blogspot.com. You can find all the resources you need to make this little dandy yourself on her blog right HERE. Not only does she have a PDF of all the supplies and instructions you will need, she also has links to her YouTube videos that show you exactly how to make it. I found the videos invaluable in making this because the directions are more of a list instead of detailed how to's. She does a GREAT job. Thanks Jenny!!!
Before the pictures, I would like to say it is intense in the measuring and cutting department, but I seem to be a glutton for punishment so I loved it! I think it's super cool to take a stack of chipboard and glue and end up with something like this! Enjoy!
Here you go!
Here is a view of one side with the doors closed. I got my little closure/latches at Hobby Lobby, they are from the "Spare Parts" embellishment section. I got the drawer pulls from there as well. You can see them farther down the post.
This is a double sided chest. There are a set of doors on each side. If you decide to build one, when you look at the supply list, Jen uses something called Kraft-Tex that she likes a lot for the door hinges. I was too impatient to order some online so while I was at Hobby Lobby, I picked up some fabric tape that worked really well. I was able to spray paint it with the primer and cover it with paper.
This is a top view with only one side open. It also shows the leather handle that I made. I cut it from regular leather, sprayed it with primer (which peeled off when it dried) so then I used some new permanent sprays I got for Christmas from my awesome SIL. They are DecoArt Media sprays and they worked great!
Here is a view with both sets of doors open. Pretty cool!
Now for the good part! Each center section holds 24 of the mini ink pads. The very top row isn't big enough to put more up there. The way Jen designed it, the doors were to store the inking handles that you put the foam pads on. She created this cool way to hang them from the inside/top of the doors with magnets. You will have to watch her videos to see what I am talking about because I made a change that you can see below.
Since there will be at least 12 new colors coming out and possibly more next year, I decided to prepare for the future. As you can see, above the drawer in each door, I added shelves for 6 more ink pads. That gives room for 24 more pads in the future! I just used the same measurements as for the center part but just did 3 shelves instead of 6.
Here you can see that I created a pull out panel (that part with the paisley paper) so that when I travel with this, the ink pads in the doors will not fall out. There are shelves behind that little panel.
Here is a picture with the panel pulled out and sitting next to the door.
In two of the doors drawers I store extra blending pads. With the mini ink pads, the 1" round pads fit perfectly in the bottom of the ink pad and store nicely when you put them in the shelf upside down. You can see this in the bottom right corner where you can barely see the round blender on top of the ink pad. I store a blending handle on each side of the chest in the other two drawers.
The paper that I used to cover it with is Kloe Lane by Paper Studio also from Hobby Lobby.
I got all the chipboard that I used to build it from Blick art supplies (dickblick.com). It is the crescent chipboard that comes in a 40 pack. I also plan to add a spinner on the bottom so you can just spin it from one side to the other without picking it up. I will get the spinner in any day now. It will be ordered from Scrapadabadoo.com. Be sure and let me know if you have any questions and I would love to know of any brave souls that take on this project. I had fun making it!
Good luck and blessings to you!
