Woven Bamboo Fibers Placemat Box

Did you know that bamboo is grass - not wood? I'm sure many of you have used bamboo placemats in your home - I'm talking about the ones with thin rounded bamboo sticks held together with thread. But have you seen the ones made from thin, soft bamboo fibers or threads that eliminate the rigid wooden sticks - offering a cloth feel without any hard slats?  Well, that's what I'll be using to make a woven bamboo fibers placemat box! And in a purple hue, too, lol!!!

But before I get started with my tutorial, it's time for our monthly Creative Craft Hop!  WELCOME!  The hop is co-hosted by Sara @Birdz of a Feather  and Donna @Modern on  Monticello who take turns every other month! The lovely and talented  Donna is our host for this month! I'm so glad you're here checking out our creative projects for the month of August! If you're coming over from Sara's - wasn't her polymer clay waffle amazing! Sara is so creative and inspiring!  And at the very end of my tutorial, I'll be directing you to the next amazing creative crafter on this hop.

As I mentioned earlier, this box is made from placemats that are tightly hand woven bamboo made from thin, soft bamboo fibers (threads) like the ones shown below:

Looks interesting, doesn't it! So let's get started!

Materials:

• Bamboo placemats
• Ruler/pencil/scissors
• Unfinished wood blocks - 5"x3"
• Super Fabri-Tac glue
• Mod Podge/paint brush
• Flower petal paper template/quarter/decorative button
• Magnetic snap/clip

How To:

Let's start with measuring the wood blocks (5" wide) I'll be using to cut a strip of placemat material to cover the sides of the blocks and .  .  .

cut out!

Add Super Fabri-Tac glue to the five inch smooth side of the wood pieces and . . .
lay directly onto the cutout strip of placemat, smoothing it out, and let dry.

Once dry, apply glue to both of one of the narrow ends of the wood blocks and place on the side ends of the placemat just above the folded end. 

Continue adding glue to all three sides of the wood .  .  . 

making sure to leave the fourth (wider) side for the lid bare(which is not glued).

Then standing the wood blocks and placemat up to add glue to the shorter ends.

Once that's done, pulling the placemat over the third (smaller) sides of the wood to seal and let dry.

And finally, all three sides (check marked) are glued and sealed in place!

For the outside front flap, make a decorative flower out of placemat scraps that were left over from the first cutting to cover the wood blocks. Do this by decoupaging (to seal the fibers together) a scrap piece of placemat (I forgot to take a picture of applying the Mod Podge to the placemat scrap), let dry and then make a 1" paper petal template to cut out six petals.

Use a quarter to cut out the center piece to attach the petals to.

Then glue on each petal to the center piece .  .  .

until all six petals are .  .  .

glued in place. Let dry.

Then glue on a decorative button for the center. How adorable does this look!

And finally, add a magnetic snap to the front flap and bottom front to keep the box closed!

Once the magnetic snaps are in place, glue on the decorative flower on the front where the prongs are showing .  .  .

 holding in place with a clip until the glue is dry.

Now, stand back and admire your creation!

A stylish and functional storage solution for organizing just about anything - keepsakes, jewelry, household items - even some of your craft supplies!

Up next is Donna, one of our co-hosts, sharing her very adorable and cool macrame butterfly bag charms! And be sure to check out Donna's and all of the creative craft projects listed below for this month:

Crochet a Cozy Chenille Steering Wheel Cover

DIY Decorative Tray: An Easy Wrapping Paper Project

Sassy Polymer Clay Waffle

 Woven Bamboo Fibers Placemat Box

DIY Macrame Butterfly Bag Charms for Kids