Tutorial - Zebra Foam Tray Storage Box

Every now and then, every crafter needs a no-brainer kind of a craft. You know, the ultra-easy kind that you can do with your eyes closed while dancing to some fine fine tunage, preferably something from the 80's. Maybe some Prince and the Revolution? Yeah baby, that's pretty much my idea of heaven right there... Now just crank it, and let's do this!

TUTORIAL: Zebra Foam Tray Storage Box

You will need:

• Clean styrofoam meat trays
• Shoe box
• Foam glue
• Pair of scissors
• Pencil
• White/black or gray acrylic paint
• Coarse paint brush

1. If your shoe box isn't gray like my little box happened to be, you may want to give it a few coats of black or dark gray paint.

2. Cut the edges off your cleaned foam trays.

3. From your foam trays, cut several square and rectangular shapes. You need enough to fit the entire surface of the box. Obviously, the larger the box, the more you'll need. Okay, you knew that...

4. Glue the rectangles on with special foam glue. A friend of mine gave me this glue, but you can get your very own at any craft store. Or you can ask your friends to buy you some...

5. As previously mentioned, cover the entire surface of the box. Let one covered side dry before moving on to the next side.

6. Using a blunt pencil, mark your foam with zebra stripes. Just go for it! There are no rules in zebra land! Once you have your pattern, go over it a few times to make your lines wider and uneven.

7. Take some white acrylic paint and your coarse paintbrush and gently paint the foam surface white. Use only a little bit of paint at a time so that the zebra lines stay free of paint. I only did 1 coat of white. You may want to apply a coat or 2 of varnish to protect the surface.

And you are done! Just like that! Here is the finished product!

Use it to store those gajillion pencils you've collected...

Or fill it with all those little sewing notions you don't know what to do with...

Or even better! Hide a chocolate stash in there for when you get the urge... And don't tell anyone. It's all for YOU!

Hee hee.

Have a fantastic day!

P.S. Here's another way to recycle styrofoam trays...