I bought this turquoise plastic box from a charity shop a few weeks back for the princely sum of £2.

I had in mind that it might come in handy as display material for my stall.

I think it might have once held cosmetics, as perhaps the initials on the top might stand for Estée Lauder…So one of yesterday’s jobs was to transform it into something I can use to display necklaces.

Beneath the turquoise plastic it came lined with yellowing foam, which presumably used to be concealed under whatever glossy padding (satin? velvet?) was used to hold the cosmetics that came in the box.

That ugly foam was stuck fast. When I tried lifting a bit of it up, I revealed lots of very-firmly-stuck yellow glue that looked a little like earwax.

Yuck.

So I decided that it was best to let sleeping foam lie and put something over it. But what?

Cork! Time to cannibalise a couple of our grubby old Ikea placemats…

I cut them to size with a stanley knife, painted one side of the cork with white matt primer and used velcro to hold it inside the box. That way, it can be removed when and if necessary.

What do you think?

I think I still need to sort out my signage. And I wish I had some prettier push-pins to hold my necklaces. I’d make some if I had a bit more time.

But overall, I’m quite pleased with it. I like a bit of make do and mend.

And I can actually stash my necklaces inside to transport them, so it’s useful too.

If you come along to any of my stalls you’ll be able to see it in action! ♥