My absolute favorite “inbox” is not an inbox, it’s is a tool for becoming inspired to do collage. My inbox is a paper box where I store scraps of paper a.k.a. other people’s trash a.k.a the collage artists biggest treasure (paper scraps for collage). It has been a constant on my desk for years and I love it. I can’t imagine how I did collages before I had this… I now consider it a must for all collage artists!

I use an ordinary paper box I got in the mail, and I’m sure you have something similar at hand? Grab it and let’s prettify it a bit. Just because we’re messy paper hoarders doesn’t mean we’ve got to have a desk covered in piles of books, dust and papers, right?

I had my Scrap Inbox plain brown for a long time, but no more. It’s time for a change!

DIY inbox

So here is a quick tutorial on how I did just that with a simple paper box, a recycled box from an Amazon book delivery. If you’re not into collage you can use this tutorial to make yours a desk inbox for postcards and bills. Every desk needs one!

Spray paint - white

Brought out white spray paint and coated the corrugated paper box two times all around each side.

White inbox

Maybe I should’ve painted the inside too, but really, it is already filled to the brim with scraps of papers and you will never see the inside again unless “someone” cleans it, and who would that be really?

DIY tutorial on striped inbox

Now, get coloured tape and start taping your box until it is covered with black and white stripes. Pretty, me thinks. I also covered the top edge, to make it more durable.

Taped and finished

Being organized is never easy to me; instead it is a constant battle that I seem to loose. There are so many papers everywhere, and keeping it organized is so darn difficult! But I do try my very best and always come up with new ways to organize things.

Black and white stripes

Last year when I started using this shallow paper box from Amazon as storage for little paper scraps it really helped to keep my desk clean(er). I tend to make piles of papers to “store away” somewhere, but now I just put them in the inbox! Those little bits could just as easily be tossed in the trash, but some are really good and I see this container as “temporary”. If they are not used in a while I will toss them for good, I hereby promise! Though now I have learned to enjoy using that stuff a lot.

I like that they are always there, accumulate without effort and are easy to reach when I am working. Quite a few of last years collages were made just from scraps from the now b/w inbox!