Record Album Cover Box Tutorial

Retro-y box next to my retro-y papasan chair

This idea popped into my head the other night when I was wandering around the apartment wondering what to do with myself. There are tons of different crafts you can do with records and record covers, but the only boxes I've seen are smaller ones made from one cover. I picture this big box as a catch-all, maybe for all the clutter in the living room that I have to hide before company comes over (you all know what I'm talking about). It could be a great conversation piece too, especially if you use really cool albums. Each cover I picked has a blonde on it, so I've dubbed it the Blonde Bombshell Box.

Supplies:

5 record album covers

a drill

bulldog clips
hemp cord (not shown)

scissors (not shown)
(shown but not needed are jute cord, a tape measure and a pencil)

I picked out the four blonde ladies for the sides of the box, and one not-so-exciting one for the bottom (that would be The Seductive Sax of Boots Randolph - his sax might be seductive, but his album cover sure ain't). Then I used the bulldog clips to hold them tightly together and keep them from slipping while I drilled holes along each side.

On my first attempt I drilled just two holes on each side and constructed the box using a piece of jute cord tied through each set of holes. This was really flimsy though, so I took it apart and drilled more holes (eleven total, but the number doesn't really matter as long as it's the same on each side). I also realized that I didn't need to measure and mark each place to drill.

I switched to hemp because it's neater and so much easier to work with than jute. I also realized that I could lace the hemp cord along each corner, just like tying my sneakers! Not only was this a lot less fiddly than tying a bunch of knots, but it makes the box sturdier, and means that it doesn't really matter if the holes line up exactly. Plus, you get those cool looking X's. See how the on the top two holes the string just goes straight across though? If you don't like that look, you need to drill an even number of holes.

Here's a shot of the inside. See how in the lower left corner the bottom piece sticks out a little bit? That's totally fine, because I was trying to position the sides so that they rested on top of the bottom part. It's not an exact science, mind you, but it worked out ok in the end. Who says it all has to be exactly 90 degrees anyway?

Voila and ta-da! The finished product! Notice the decorative edge along the top? That was actually a happy accident. I guess I got a little carried away, because I ended up drilling along all four sides, when I only needed to do three to make the box. Oops! Doesn't this look like it was planned though?