A Box Finish

Today I woke up to a bright and sunny Sunday morning.  A perfect morning!  I thought I would share with all of you how I do my box finishes.  It all started with Angela's box, from Hooked on Stitches.  This will be my third box so far this year and now I have requests to make more! My brother wants one with some sort of moose/deer or hunting theme.  If anyone has a good monochromatic design that fits a hunting theme could you let me know?!

So here's a mini tutorial.

Step 1: Buy box! I usually get my boxes at the dollar stores although I have purchased one at Michael's.  It would be good to sand it down first before painting. I have yet to do this! I just found some sandpaper in my hubby's tool box so I'll be using it for the next box I do.

Step 2: Disassemble box by taking off all the hinges with a little screwdriver and set aside in a cup or bowl so you don't loose the tiny screws.  The clasp part of the box doesn't come off so you will have to paint carefully around those pieces.  If you do get paint on the hinges, don't panic.  Take a q-tip and some water and dab off the paint.  Start applying paint with a medium, regular paintbrush (you can get this at Michael's), using a craft paint.  I usually give the box 2-3 coats, letting each coat dry before I apply another coat. You can also use a glossy paint for a nice finish but those are more expensive.

Step 3: If you don't use a glossy paint, then you can spray hobby craft enamel over the paint.  I usually take the box outside to do this because there are so many warning signs on the can!! Let the box dry completely to touch before attaching any sort of stitching/fabric onto the box.

Step 4: This step can vary depending on if you want to put your design directly on the top of the box, or if you want a more raised look, like the Ink Circles box I made.  For this design, I used some batting on top for a more cushy look. I used some craft glue to attach the batting to the top of the box.

Step 5: Attach your design with a craft glue. I used a toothpick to apply the glue along the sides of the top of the box and made sure my design was square before gluing down the sides.  I folded the edges like I would wrapping a present. I added a little glue to the triangled edges to make sure they stuck to the fabric on the sides.

Step 6: Embellishment!  The fun part!! To hide those unseemly edges of fabric, add a ribbon, lace, or flat embellished cording. After attaching the sides with glue, I looked at my assortment of ribbons and played around with a few options.  I settled on a purple ribbon but decided it was too plain and added buttons on top of the ribbon.  I think it turned out great! 

Last step is to reattach the hinges and screws into the box and there you have it, the box finish!

Stay tuned and I will be back with the twisted ribbon finish!
 


(Edited to include Annie's questions!!)