Cartonnage Projects

I've recently gotten into cartonnage, or making fabric-covered boxes. I've done this before, of course, but my previous efforts were sewn and/or embroidered boxes. The ones I've been making lately are glued. And I've been using kits for them. Both of these factors make them hundreds of times easier and faster to do than the sewn ones.

Because they're made from kits with online instructions or instructions in books, I'm not going to do any step-by-step pictures or descriptions because anyone can purchase the kits or book if they're interested. And I don't want to take anything away from the author/kit fabricator. But I will show pictures of the finished products and a couple in-process pictures. I will also post links in case anyone wants to purchase the same kit. I've been using the kits and books from Colorway Arts, for those who are interested.

I started out making a lazy susan caddy to hold various supplies while I'm stitching. The cartonnage process involves a lot of specialty tools such as spacers, a corner mitering tool, and these handy little corner clips:

It also involves a lot of masking tape and heavy books to help things stay together while the glue dries:

Here is a view of the finished caddy: 

I really love the striped interior. That fabric is just so lovely and elegant:

After making this project, I used these techniques to make my own little design for a box:

It's a little more pink in real life, although it looks more orange-y here:

But it's very cute. I did sew the lid on for this one because I hadn't yet learned how to make a hinged lid. It was very hard to sew because the glue made the fabric super stiff. But I eventually got it done. And then I gave it to my brother's fiancée, Becky, for her birthday. She loved it. 😊

After that, I did another kit for a treasure chest: 

I love, love, love the fabrics for this:

And the little lift-out tray is so cute, with this little compartment area underneath:

At this point, I had accumulated a ton of tools and supplies for making these boxes, so my dining table was littered with them. Which meant, of course, I needed a handy place to put all those tools. Enter the cartonnage tool box:

And look how well it organizes and holds all my handy tools:

And I just love how cheerful the colors are:

I love all these boxes, but my pièce de résistance was the expanded treasure chest with a hidden drawer, which I just recently finished:

These French country chic fabrics make my heart throb 💙: 

Like the first treasure chest, this one has a little lift-out tray, but it goes the whole width of the box, so I added those little loops to make it easier to take out. Underneath the tray, it has these small compartments:

But my favorite feature is this adorable drawer, which I attached a small key charm to by way of a drawer pull:

And those are the cartonnage projects I've been working on over the last couple months. I have really enjoyed making these, and I love how they've turned out. So I definitely plan to make more of them in the coming months — probably some for other people. After all, who doesn't need a cute box to hold stuff?