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14 September, 2014

Ikea Hack // Kraft Paper Dispenser for under $15

karft paper, ikea hack,


If you know me, you're no doubt aware that I have a slight obsession with kraft paper.  I love its versatility - it can as easily dress up a Christmas present for a 3 year old as it can a present for an 80th.  

This year I have decided to purge all other wrapping papers from my house (a little bit ocd...hey!) and use only kraft paper to wrap my gifts.  I use a variety of tags, labels & stamps to help me add a little bit of personality and to personalise each gift.  Here are a couple examples:





















So, as any good obsession of mine goes, I tend to take it to the next level...I've had my eye on this little baby for quite a while.  

It's a kraft paper dispenser from George & Willy and I love it for so many reasons, including:




i)    it holds a HEAP of kraft paper

ii)   I would use it to keep me up to date with all my friends and family birthdays for the month
iii)  it would be a little focal point / art work for my office
iv)  it's matte black...say no more


I was so close to buying it, deciding on a little splurge for my newly renovated office, when I stumbled across some bits & pieces in the curtain department at Ikea and it got my d.i.y juices flowing....




I used the Racka, curtain rod system from Ikea, cut down to size and here is the result.  It is actually perfect as I can adjust it based on the size of the roll of paper that I buy.










So, its not exactly the chic, matte black dispenser from George & Willy but I'm really happy with how it turned out and the $275 change I ended up with in my pocket !

Here are a couple more of my kraft paper favs


1.  Restaurant menu
2.  Disposable table cloth - coming to a party of mine soon !
3   Shopping list - I sometimes pen my shopping list on my paper and then snap a photo of it as I'm running out the door
3.  Hours of entertainment for the kids - young and old


12 comments:

  1. Thank you for posting this! I have been eyeing the one from George & Willy, but cannot get myself to splurge! Is the Racka from Ikea the double curtain rod system? That is the only one I can seem to find. Also, where do you buy your paper? Is there a certain diameter that fits? Thank you!

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  2. Hi Jodan, (sorry for the delay in replying!) Yes it is the double curtain rod system but I only used the single pole. I bought the Kraft paper from an office supplied shop. You just need to make sure that your rod fits through the hole of the Kraft paper. I got some kraft paper from Kmart and the rod didn't fit so I have to re-roll it on to the old roll. Not a major issue but not ideal. Goodluck!

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  3. I've been meaning to do this! Yours looks great. I've been hesitating because I can't decide how wide it needs to be. Amazon seems to carry white or craft paper rolls in standard widths, usually 18" or 23" or so. I'm kind of thinking that, since this is for kids' art projects, the more wall coverage, the better. Regardless, the curtain rod will need to be trimmed down. Were you able to trim it with a hacksaw?

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  4. LuckyDuck - you can trim a curtain rod with a pipe cutter. You can also buy kraft-ish paper at a local hardware store (like Home Depot, Lowes etc) in various sizes. It's in the paint section, used for masking off areas from paint overspray.

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  5. LOVE this! Adding it to my preschool program with a clear plastic shower curtain in back of it. Saves lots of space.

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  6. This is great! Is there black paper like this? Or gold? I'm looking around and can't find any - then I'd use either white chalk marker on the black or black marker on the gold. My house tones are black and gray so not sure butcher paper color will look right?

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  7. I love this! Do you think the rack would hold if i mounted it vertically to pull the paper across the wall?

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  8. Thank you so much for sharing this hack! I simply can't justify paying the George and Willy price but LOVE the idea. I will definitely try this!

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  9. How does it stand up to the weight of a full roll of paper? What length roll do you use?

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  10. Just made something similar, but using a 1" thick piece of dowel instead of the rod.
    It fits perfectly in the Racka bracket and was easy to cut down to size (65cm across - just over 2' in American units).

    Thanks for the tip, Marisa!

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  11. Do you have an idea for an easy rip blade? I need for for work that will save time by ripping pieces more efficiently.

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  12. Great ideas in this post. I'm taking notes. The road is really cool but we chose a modular rubber road our son can reshape it permanently. With his little wooden candylab cars it's a hit. Here is an example: https://www.titechouette.com/collections/candylab-toys

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