Tissue boxes are ugly. They're not necessarily all ugly, but I think it is a given that you can't count on finding a tissue box that matches your decor every time you go shopping. I wanted to deal with that minor annoyance by creating a tissue box cover, which would fit on top of the tissue box and hide the ugly. This way it would always match and I can be free to buy whatever super ugly tissues just happen to be on sale. This probably seems like an unnecessary DIY project...and it is. I'm pretty sure not too many people care what the tissue box in my living room looks like, but Sunday night football was on and my team lost to that punk Colin Kaepernick earlier this afternoon and I needed a project to keep myself busy. Because I'm really mad about that punk Colin Kaepernick.
Here's the tissue box I started out with.
The irony of this post is that this tissue box actually does match the room its in. But oh well. That wasn't really the point I suppose.
I decided the easiest way to make this box would be to use cardboard. Lucky for me we just got a piece of furniture that came in a large box, giving me enough cardboard to make 30 tissue box covers if I wanted.
First step: I measured the sides of tissue box, and added a half-inch to each measurement so the new cardboard box would fit around it. The top and two long sides are the same size (my measurements were 9.5"x5"), and then the short sides are obviously smaller (my measurements were 5"x5").
Second step: measure, draw, and cut out the hole for the tissues on the top piece. I'm the opposite of a mathematical, so this was not a very specific or concrete process. It involved some measuring and some eyeballing, but it worked out fine.
Third step: tape all the sides together. It's just a tissue box and won't be put through war or anything like that, so I just used scotch tape. It's a little fragile while you're going through the next several steps but it holds well enough for it's long-term purpose.
Fourth step: cover the cardboard with the fabric of your choice. I chose burlap, because it's kind of my goal to cover, upholster, and drape everything in my house with burlap. I still love it as a fabric, but I will now confidently say that it's a pain in the butt to work with. I mean...good grief.
I figured the best course of action for covering the box would be to wrap it like a present, even though I knew at some point there would be issues because this particular box is missing a side.
I used my good ol' all-purpose glue to attach the burlap to the box, but in hindsight I should have just used my hot glue gun. I was feeling lazy and didn't want to bother with it, but the burlap would have been easier to deal with and manhandle if I had used the hot glue gun. Next time.
I didn't really have any issues until I got to the corners. I continued to try to wrap it like a present, but the burlap is just too thick and the glue just isn't strong enough. The combination of the two was a bust.
That corner fold was like two inches thick, and mostly an air bubble. I needed to do something different. So I made some cuts and tried again.
I cut along each crease so I had four square flaps hanging off the ends of the box, then glued down the top and bottom two flaps, then cut the side flaps into triangles and glued them down. And by this time I was praying that my craft glue would dry clear, since it was a hot mess and smeared all over the place from my multiple attempts and mistakes. Even though it looks a little rough in this picture, it does actually look much better in person and a whole lot better than the original attempt.
Fifth step: Cut the extra fabric off the bottom of the box.
I will be honest here: I tried to glue that burlap down onto the insides of the box to keep it all clean and neat, but it didn't seem to want to stick all of a sudden, and I was getting tired. So I just slid the whole thing down over the tissue box with the burlap tucked inside, and it worked. So I chose the lazy route once more and left it.
Sixth step: cut the hole in the top of the burlap to poke the tissue out.
A little rough around the edges...not the most beautiful thing I've ever made...but overall not too horrible. I think it's better than the original.
Because I know you're dying to know: yes. The glue dried clear after all (not according to this picture, but as I'm typing right now I can't see the glue through the burlap anymore).
Like I said, not the most beautiful thing I've ever made, but it does its job and it's growing on me the longer it sits there. If I make more for other rooms in the house (my nightstand currently has a horrible hot pink tissue box), I'll use my hot glue gun and I'll know how better to start out folding the edges. Overall, I think it's cute and I'm glad I got something else crossed off my list.
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