Unfinshed Wood Box

As promised, today I’m going to show you how I made my unfinished wood box that my birdie (from last weeks post) sits on.

I got this box from my most favorite store in the world…Dollar Tree. Ok, that might be an exaggeration…but I do heart me some Dollar Tree! :)

So, this is what I started with:

I didn’t take picture of the next few steps.

I didn’t sand it. I didn’t paint it. I simply cut scrapbook paper down to the size of each side/section. It’s fine if it’s not perfect! I never do anything to perfection….TRUST ME! ;-) You’ll be sanding and aging it, so you’ve got room for error.

Next, I used my favorite craft item on the planet…Modge Podge! Cue the harps!!

If you have not discovered Modge Podge yet…you’ve never crafted! ;)

If the cats sit still long enough, I might even Modge Podge them to my next project! Here kitty, kitty! LOL

Modge Podge is as simple as, get one of those foamy brushes that look like this:

And slather the gluey paste all over your box. Don’t use too much!! It just makes a huge mess and dry time takes for.ev.er. and you’ll end up with more puckers in the paper and it won’t be flat when it dries. I’m guilty of this! Also, put a little on the backside of your scrapbook paper, then adhere the paper to the box. Use a flat edge, like the edge of a credit card, to run across the paper, this will push out any air bubbles.

Now you have to let it dry. I HATE WAITING! But it’s a necessary step.

Now, don’t freak out at this point. If you pushed your paper down with a flat edge really well, and you don’t have globs of the glue, you might see some air pockets under the paper. They will actually work themselves out and it will dry flat. It’s really kind of amazing.

Now your box will look like this:

Well, it won’t actually look like THIS unless you use the same paper (which I got from Archiver’s – they have the best paper and you get coupons emailed to you weekly if you sign up)…but you get my drift! :)

Now, when it’s dry, you want to sand the edges. I use a sanding block…outside (unless you like to dust). This will knock down any rough edges, make the paper more worn looking, and more like it is part of the box, not something that’s glued on. And actually I just realized the picture of above is after THIS step…oops. Here’s another showing you the back. I used an Xacto knife to cut around the hinges. Again, perfection is overrated!

Next, wipe all the dust off. Now you are going to distress it even more. I told you about this product last week, Jim Holtz Distressing Ink.

Walnut Stain and Tea Stain are the two that I have that I use on everything.

This stuff takes some practice. So, if you are new to it, I’d practice on scrap paper.

I run the stamp pad along the edges and then use a paper towel (or my fingers) to kind of buff it out some so it smears a little. But if it’s still too wet it can smear out of control and it dries super fast, so I work in little sections at a time. You can always add more….you can’t take away! Just go back over spots until you get a look you like. With the Walnut, I concentrate on the edges…every single edge. Then I use the tea stain after and kind of bring it out from the edges a bit more because its’ not as dark (for this part I usually use a paper towel, run it along the stamp, then smear it onto the box.)

You’ll have something like this:

At this point, you will want to do another coat of Modge Podge over the entire box. This will seal everything.

The box is pretty enough at this point, so you could stop. But why? ;)

I decided it needed some embellishment. So I headed to Michaels (because I had a coupon for 40%) and bought the Jim Holtz – Idealogy Key Hole embellishments. They run around $7 for 5, but again, I had a 40% off coupon! So, let’s say $4 divided by 5 embellishments = .80 cents per key hole. Not bad.

A little craft glue, and voila!!! The finished box!

Let’s do the breakdown:

$1 for the box

$1 for the paper

$ .80 for the keyhole

I already had the Modge Podge

I already had the distressing inks

So, for less than $3 I have this adorable box from the Dollar tree!! :)

And let’s not forget my little birdie from last weeks “No Function Friday” (which yes, I have officially decided on) sitting on top of my box, which only cost me $1!

I'm going to link up to some parties, like:

Come by next week and figure out the purpose and function for your living spaces!

Until next time…