38th Project completed - a gift box

Welcome to the 38th completed project in the challenge. Firstly I must apologise for being a few hours late with this one, I had completed 3/4 of the project and had put it to one side when the pup decided she required a snack and decided that it looked good enough to eat! So I had to begin all over again!!!!!

Anyway here it is, a paper mache gift box.

Materials 

• Empty gravy tub
• Cereal box
• Multi purpose Glue
• PVA Glue
• 1 Sheet of tissue paper
• Decoupage flower
• Ruler
• Pen
• Scissors

Instructions

  

1. Cut your gravy tub  down to the desired size, you need to end up with two sections, a base and a lid. Cut a circle from the cereal box to make a top for the lid and glue into place.

2. Cut a strip from your cereal box that is the same height as the inside of your base plus 5mm x the inside circumference of your base and glue it inside your base so that it lines the inside of the base and creates a lip for the lid to fit onto.

  

3. Cover your sections inside and out with a layer of tissue paper. Try not to build up too many layers around the inside if the lid and around the lid as this will make fitting the lid more difficult!

4. Add some decoration, I used a flower that I removed from a handmade decoupaged greetings card that i was given, and there we have it a great little gift box ideal for any small gift!

 

19th Project completed: A shabby chic thread / momento box

Hi all!

Well this week seems to have been a really long one. My Step-son has been doing his AS Level art exams this week so alot of the week has centred around keeping him working. At last here we are, Saturday. Time to see what I have been up to this week.

As you know I have been trying to sort out the workroom over the last couple of weeks. I have been grabbing a bit of time here and there to do small sections in between working on the websites, answering customer's queries and housework looking after the kid's etc. I am nearly there now and the room is already easier to use and hopefully keep tidy in the future.

Like most embroiderers, I have a few favorite threads that I use all the time and I like to keep them handy. They need to be kept dust free and not be allowed to 'spool off' the reels and get tangled. So I have decided to try making a small box which I can leave out handy for the sewing machine to store them in. This type of box could also easily be made to hold momentoes or jewellery instead.



Materials needed:

• Strong cardboard boxes
• A newspaper
• Paint
• PVA Glue
• Hot Glue Gun
• A Laminator sheet
• Laminating machine
• Craft Knife
• Packing string

Instructions:

1. I decided to use a small washing powder box as the main box. The first step is to stick down any flaps so you have a solid box without any openings.

2. Cut around one side of the box to form a lid (as shown in picture above). Leave one edge attatched to make a hinge.

3. Cover the entire outside of the box and inside the lid with a layer of newspaper to add strength and create a better surface to paint on.

4. Leaving a frame around the edge. Cut a design into the lid to reflect the items it is designed for - mine says threads.

5. Make compartments using strips of card taken from another box. Glue them into place with a glue gun. I made the compartments the right size to hold 1000yd cops of thread and some sundries, but the size of the compartments you create is up to you.

6. Paint the box inside and out. I used an old blue matt emulsion test pot that I found in the shed but you could use acrylic paint. I found that using the emulsion over the PVA glue created a crackle effect similar to that found on 'shabby chic' type furniture which is ideal for this project!

7. Run an empty laminator pouch through the laminator and stick it to the inside of your lid as a window.

8. Thread a piece of packing string or ribbon through the lid and another piece corresponding to it on the front of your box and tie to close.

There we have it a recycled box for momentoes or in my case threads!

See you tomorrow night for the announcement of next week's materials.

3rd Project Announcement

Ok - time for this weeks materials announcement, in the recycling pile this week I found the following items which may work together to make something interesting:

1x Gravy granule tin, 1x teabag box, a newspaper and some gold chocolate wrappers

So lets see how I do this week, hopefully better than last week!