Sharpie Doodle: Upcycled Tea Box Organizer

DIY Organizer Decorated With Sharpie Art

​If you have a Sharpie marker or two in your home, then you can turn about anything into an artistic canvas. Even "trash". 

Lots of us love the challenge of upcycling something that would normally be thrown away (since it is pretty much free and all). You've probably seen all the Pinterest projects for upcycling or making over items like old jars, cereal boxes and wood scraps. 

Well, this little upcycled tea box is a much smaller project than anything involving wood scraps. It is made from one of the divider boxes used in a box of Lipton tea bags. 

Here is how I transformed this one into a cute desktop holder for my paper clip collection: 

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1. Start With The Empty Box

Where the heck do you get those tea boxes? 

Okay. We drink a LOT of tea in this house. The southern kind that is boiled on the stove and made with sugar. 

We probably (usually) buy 2-3 boxes of the Lipton 100 count boxes of tea per month. (I make a pretty stout pitcher of tea.) Each box has four of these little containers inside to hold the tea bags. 

Back in the day, Lipton tea came with cardboard dividers that were flat, and made the perfect bookmark (smelled so good!).

I probably had hundreds of those decorated and stuck in every book. Then they switched to packaging unwrapped tea bags (and maybe I still haven't forgiven them yet) in these boxes. 

They aren't the sturdiest little things, but they hold up well for little things such as: 
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• Paper clips and other small desk clutter
• Craft supplies such as buttons and beads
• Jewelry odds and ends
• Kitchen junk drawer stuff

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And of course you COULD put the tea bags back in them if you want. 

Anyhow, they are little and cute, and it's a shame to waste anything that is little, cute and draw-on-able. 

2. Make Your Doodle with Pencil and Sharpie Marker

​Use a mechanical pencil and a light touch to sketch on your doodle (you can ink directly if you are bold and don't have little kids that might sneak attack you).  

My black Sharpie was out of commission. I bought that one at Walmart along with some colored pens, and they are pretty great too. 

Use whichever fine-line permanent pen you have (in whichever color you want) to ink over your pencil lines. Then carefully erase any leftover pencil marks before coloring. 

3. Color Your Doodle 

I decided to go with dots instead of smooth coloring. It saves on ink and gives a more interesting texture. Since these boxes are rather glossy, it is hard to get the ink perfectly smooth anyways. 

That is a BIC permanent pen in the box. Those are new to my collection and they have a really fast ink flow. I love them for cartooning. 

Still can't be beat a traditional Sharpie for strong color and smooth lines.

If you "slow dot", the ink will bleed slightly and create a watercolor-ish mark instead of an obvious pen dot. You can slide the tip around to get some different texture in there too. 

Since it takes awhile to do all the dots, and I was sorta impatient to get the finished picture, I opted not to draw all the way around the box this time. 

You can even draw on the inside, but it ain't easy! 

​TIP:
To make the box easier to hold, slip a hardcover book into the box to provide a solid center. This gives you more pen control and keeps you from squishing your box too! ​

Close-up: It's sorta like tattooing your art onto the box. You can definitely blend dots of different colors to create more depth and texture. 

4. Organize With Your Cute, New Doodle Box

Is it a coincidence that the boxes are the exact length to hold a Sharpie marker? I think not! 

So there ya go. A Sharpie doodle organizer! All it takes is: 

• A little box
• Permanent markers in assorted colors
• Some time and patience 

And you have a cute, helpful thing that can add a spot of art in an unexpected place. 

Bonus Secret Tip: Each box also holds four bottles of LA Colors nail polish.

More ideas: 

• Use washi tape to reinforce the corners and finish the top edge for extra glam. 
• Decorate with cute or educational theme and use to hold kid's flashcard sets separated in a basket. 
• Decorate and use as a mini gift box/basket for a friend. 
• Use with plastic risers to create multi-level storage for your desk or vanity. 

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