Get Crafty: Oatmeal Container Headband Holder

The growing pile of headbands on H's table have been bothering me lately, so I decided it was time to tackle a project I've had my eye on for a while - the oatmeal container headband holder. And honestly it was so easy I wish I had done it sooner!

The first time I came across the project was of course on Pinterest, where I saw this post. I had read through it once but didn't ever need to reference it when I got to work on this - it's pretty straightforward. This is my version but you can really take the basic concept and be as creative as you want to be!

 You'll need:

• An empty oatmeal container (the large one - 42 oz)
• Fabric or scrapbook paper - if you use scrapbook paper you'll need 2 sheets
• Ribbon
• Mod Podge and hot glue gun

Step one - Cut your fabric or paper to size
I chose to do fabric because I had a some leftover from a dress I made H that I wanted to use. The tutorial above uses scrapbook paper. Since I used fabric I'm going to refer to fabric going forward, but the same directions apply to paper.
Remove the lid from the container and set aside. Lay the container on it's side to measure and cut the fabric. You'll want the fabric to be a little bit larger than the container so that it overlaps in the back. The top of the fabric should be just under the rolled over top of the container. The bottom should be a couple of inches past the bottom of the container - you will be folding and gluing it under.

Step two - Gluing on the fabric
Use a brush or a sponge to spread Mod Podge onto the container, one large section at a time. Smooth the fabric onto the container with your hands, pushing out any wrinkles or air bubbles. As you make your way around the container, tuck the top edge of the fabric under the top lip of the container.

When you get all the way around, overlap and glue the ends together. Here and on the lid are the only places that I put glue on top of the fabric. I didn't want to edges to fray or the fabric to start to peel of as headbands are pulled off. I would not recommend putting any Mod Podge on top of the fabric anywhere else because then it will look like what it is - fabric with glue on top. However, if you are using scrapbook paper it might not be a bad idea to make your way around again and cover the paper with Mod Podge.

Step three - Finishing the bottom
Turn the contain upside down and make cuts into the bottom edge of the fabric all the way around. Then spread Mod Podge onto the inside edge of the bottom, and the bottom itself. Begin working your way around the bottom tucking under the fabric and pressing it onto the glue.

Step four - The lid
Place the lid onto your fabric and cut around the outside - about 1/2 an inch wider than the lid itself. Spread Mod Podge onto the top of the lid and then press the fabric circle onto it, smoothing out any wrinkles and pressing the fabric into any grooves the lid has (the fabric should take the shape of the lid). Spread mod Podge on top of the fabric. I wanted the fabric to bond as much as possible with the flexible lid to they don't separate when the lid is removed from the container.

 

Like with the bottom, cut small frays around the edge of the fabric. Brush Mod Podge onto the outside edge of the lid and begin pressing down the fabric. Don't worry if these edges are uneven or frayed - they're going to be covered by the ribbon.

I originally tried to attach the ribbon with Mod Podge. It wasn't until I thought to myself "this is longer around than I thought it was..." that I realized that the ribbon was just flopping off as I turned the lid. So out came the hot glue gun! 

Let everything dry and then you're done! You can be as creative as you want to be with decorating it - add some silk flowers or buttons to the lid. I would leave to container part bare though so you don't interfere with getting the headbands on and off. I kept the whole thing pretty simple because H has a lot of flowery headbands, which seem like enough decoration!

You can slide the headbands right on and pop open the lid to store soft headbands, bows and barrettes!