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  • Writer's pictureBelinda

A Stationary Stationery Boot

(I do like a bit of word play.) I have to say right up front, this is not the project I intended to present today. The kit I was and am still working on is quite large and I am LOVING the process and the luxury of taking my time over doing all the little details. Rushing the remainder just to get it out was something I could not bear; it would feel like I cheated myself and the design. So I decided to give myself another couple of weeks to work on it. Fortunately this kit that I am presenting was a beautifully simple, and very practical one. A perfect little fill in to do in a flash so I could get back to the other one.


Working on these projects for Faith Pocock Craft Studio is so gratifying. I hope you are enjoying watching my journey with these kits and that, maybe, you're being inspired to give one a go. they are such fun and so creative.


So here is my first project for February; a cute and useful storage solution for your desk or craft space - the Stationery Boot.

Decorated MDF stationery boot with items inside
Stationery storage boot

Funnily enough, I originally thought that the pieces for this kit were a part of the other kit I am working on, despite the fact that they weren't labelled as part of the bigger kit. (I receive multiple kits at a time.) I was looking at all the pieces laid out on my desk and realised that these bits made something different. So I did a quick put together and was delighted to see it was a stationery holder in the shape of a boot. The dry run version sat on my desk for weeks before I started painting it up - regretfully I neglected to take a photo of the dry run even though I had weeks in which I could have done so.


There are not too many pieces to this kit, which means it is a good kit to get started on. The order of construction is very easy to work out and the pieces fit together logically. After dismantling the dry run I laid the pieces out and decided a paint roller was the best approach. It was a great decision, and all pieces had 2 coats of off-white paint on both sides in quick order. I did take the time to go in with a paint brush and paint all the edges white, including in the 'stretchy' areas, which was admittedly fiddly and time-consuming. It is not at all necessary, but I wanted an all white finish for the design I had in mind.


My next step was to glue everything together, except the top piece (the piece that is shaped like a horseshoe)...

  • Wrap the main piece around and glue the tabs into the appropriate slots on the opposite end. This is the trickiest part as you will need to hold it until the glue sets so that it stays together properly.

  • Add glue to the tabs along the bottom and the underneath edge of the main section and press into place on the base (sole).

  • Glue in the 2 dividers.

  • The top trim (horseshoe) piece I glued on at the very end, but you could glue it on now, depending on how you want to approach the decorating.

I had a very clear idea of how I wanted to decorate the boot, and this was made easier with the gift of some unused plastic syringes. It could be done just as easily with a spoon or brush, but the syringes worked perfectly.


I wanted a simple, yet bold colour scheme and chose to go with primary colours - Red, Blue and Yellow. I mixed a quantity of each colour with enough Floetrol to make the paint fluidic. Floetrol is an amazing product which makes paint runnier, but without changing its colour or the cohesion of the paint molecules. I filled 3 syringes, one colour per syringe. It does not take a lot of paint for this. I started with blue, pushing paint from the syringe along the top edge and allowing it to drip down the sides. I made sure that some dripped down on the inside of the boot, too.

It is important to let each colour fully dry before adding the next colour, unless you are want the colours to merge and mix. I wanted nice clean colours. To encourage the drips to go right to the bottom, you need to 'weight' the paint - this means adding more paint than required so the weight of the paint forces the drip downwards. When the drip slows to a stop sooner than you want, add a little more paint and repeat until the drip is the desired length. Add the paint in to the top and not further down to avoid creating an unnatural drip. Do make sure to sit the boot on a surface that can catch that extra paint to allay any unplanned re-decorating table issues.


MDF boot with primary colour paint drips
Colourful Paint drips

As well as dripping down the insides of the boot, I used the syringe to create some dots and spills both on the inside and around the outside edges of the base.


Once all of this was dry, I added some final touches with a paintbrush to create a couple of splatter designs.

Paint splatter effect on MDF boot
Painted splatter effect


I glued on the top piece, which I had wanted to keep all white. If you wanted to include colour on this portion, then glue it on at the main construction phase instead.


I wanted to do something with the lace holes but did not have anything suitable in my stash for the task. I found this section of cording at my favourite place to get art and crafty items: "Creative Junk". It wasn't the best colour for the job, but I decided it wasn't completely awful. As it is just tied in place, it is easy enough to replace should I find something more suitable.


I really enjoyed this fun project, and it is going to make a quirky stationery holder on my desk that I think is aptly styled for an artist's desk. It was nice to tackle a kit that has a very useful purpose.


You can find this kit and a fabulous range of many others over at the website: Faith Pocock Craft Studio.





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