Nov 5, 2020

DIY Challenge: Filebox Makeover

Kristi and Kelli
LollyJane

We at Deseret Industries recently challenged some DIY friends to upcycle some items from Deseret Industries. To make things more interesting, we picked the items! Each of our participants was mailed a mystery box of items to transform. Here’s what Kristi and Kelli from LollyJane did.

When Deseret Industries challenged us to a create something from a mystery box of items, we were excited to get creative. We opened the box to find a metal file box with a children's dictionary inside plus some cute black stickers.

The dictionary was so nostalgic—we had the same one as kids! We also own a sign shop, so we were excited for the letters since typography is our favorite!

The contents of our mystery box.

We decided to create a decorative box for florals. We love things you can easily use for different seasons—for this one, we could just swap out the flowers! We started by using a razor blade to remove the sticker from the file box and then took the lid off.

Don’t let stickers or scrapes hold you back from buying an item with good bones. You can fix a lot of little blemishes with little effort!
We spray-painted the box white but taped off the gold hardware.

We found some pretty floral illustrations inside the dictionary, so we tore them out to découpage them onto the file box.

You can easily découpage with some glue or Mod Podge.

We then added the stickers onto the file box and wrote out “FRESH CUT 5 cents” to add to the flower theme.

That's all there is to it!

A close-up of the final product!
Here’s how we styled the box on our dresser.

We love a good transformation—you can't tell this was a file box before, can you? We were so happy we were able to add all three mystery items to our project too.

When you're browsing the aisles at DI, keep an eye out for unique finds. Make sure to look past what's in front of you, and instead think of what it can become!

You can find us thrifting, repurposing, and painting, all while armed with a cold Diet Coke! 

Kelli and Kristi are twin sisters from sunny Arizona. They’ve been crafting since they could hold a crayon. Their mom would sit them at the counter when they are as young as age 2, and they could just color for hours. Today, they can still craft for hours—but switch out the crayons for a vinyl cutter, wood saw, and paint. Find them on Instagram or on their blog.