Multipurpose straw mat box

My daughter doing the modeling work for me :)

This is a box made using a straw mat and decorated using quilling. Most of us would have used a straw mat at our homes for various purposes like on dining table, on the floor or on the wall. When your used mat gets faded or damaged what do you do? Are you planning to discard , then think twice!! . 

The unused mat can be made into a multipurpose box by just following few steps mentioned below by me . 

This box can be made of different sizes depending on your requirement. I have used a part of the unused mat in my house to make this box. 

The materials required : 

1. Unused straw mat
2. Cardboard /  Old unused box 
3. Quilling strips (3 mm) 
4. Fevicol 
5. Velcro 

Making of the Straw-mat box

Inside view of Box as you can see the cardboard box  is covered  by straw mat

• The mat has to be cut to the size based on your box requirement,  For the box shown in the picture you need a mat of dimension ( 12" X 21" ) . 
• I have used an old cardboard box (For ex your phone covering box) you can choose either to use the cardboard box or just cardboard strips , the size is 3" X 5 " (width by length) 
• Apply the fevicol on the box on all the sides and roll the mat over the cardboard box to stick , ensure that the straw mat covers the box 
• To cover the areas of box seen use straws (individual) and stick them . so that the box is well hidden.
• Now to make the box look appealing and beautiful , prepare a quilling flower and stick on top of the box .
• To make quilling flower take colored 3mm strips of your choice I have chosen purple and white for flower and green for the leaves . you can choose your colours based on the mat and your preference. 
• To make each petal of the flower , I have used 2 strips for the inner and 4 strips for the outer layer, the shape can be your choice .



The Quilling Flower 

• Cut the velcro strip 1" X 2 " and stick on the box for locking purpose. 

Straw Mat Box 

The box is ready now and you can see that from the unused mat , a beautiful , decorative and multipurpose box can be made . 

The box can be used for many purposes , you can use it for storing your jewelry items , craft items or any other regular storage like even bangles , This box can also be used as a gift to your loved ones and friends .

Please do share your views on the box and also how you were able to convert some of your unused items to valuable items .