Hello to all you awesome radmegan readers!


I should probably get something out of the way before we go any further, friends. The truth is that I’m NOT a crafter. I generally shy away from anything that requires sewing, knitting, cutting or decoupage-ing. (Well, once I got into scrap-booking, but that was a mistake and I’d rather not talk about it.)


But I think we’d all agree that the amazing Rad Megan is an inspiring girl, right? So. I’m giving it a shot. For her. (Okay, and me.) I spent days anguishing over what the heck I’d make, and when I finally couldn’t procrastinate any further, I turned on my computer and started to waste some more time there. Fortunately, my mindless surfing brought me to etsy. It was there that I spotted a really sweet recipe box that used vintage album covers as separators to organize your index cards. 


::light bulb::


Now this looked like a craft that I could butcher!
Of course, there were a few issues to address. I don’t have anything particularly vintage on hand, and even if I had albums, I doubt I’d want to cut them up. But what I DO have on hand are cereal boxes. (Don’t tell my kids I cut them up, please!) They’re cardboard and full of color! It…kind of works! Another adaptation I made was eliminating the need to build the box itself. This (very talented) girl on etsy had built a simple wooden box and painted it a complimentary color. I? I scoured the house and found a black mesh bin that was the right size and look, so I didn’t have to make diddly squat.


With those problems solved, I gathered the rest of my supplies haphazardly. (Did I mention I’m not a crafter?)

In all, I had:
1. Pencil or marker
2. Straightedge
3. Ruler
4. Cereal Boxes (or other colorful cardboard)
5. Scissors (or Xacto knife)
6. Half-circle template (I used the base of my tape dispenser)
7. Mesh bin (or other appropriately sized box)
8. Index Cards
9. Paper 


First, I started by measuring the inside height and width of the box so I’d know the size of the template I’d need to create. 

Once I had my numbers, I made the template that I’d use to cut the dividers from the cereal boxes. I used a plain old sheet of paper for this step. I also used the base of my tape dispenser to make the half-circle top for my divider. I pretty much eyeballed the placement of the tab, but a better crafter would’ve measured, I’m sure.

Next, I used the template to cut out my divider from the cereal box. I traced on the back side (non-colored) of the box so as not to leave stray marks on the decorative side.

I pretty much repeated this process about six times, being sure to flip the template over to create a staggered tab effect. This is the end result: 

I think, in retrospect, I should’ve been more precise with my placement of the template on the cardboard so that I would’ve gotten more varied colors in the tabs themselves. (I also probably should’ve gotten a damn manicure.) But, all in all, I’m happy with the result. It took less than an hour of my time, and it’s certainly prettier than the Dollar Store recipe box I *had* been using. (And cheaper than the $30 one I saw on etsy.)


-Kristine