These pretty decoupage boxes are easy to make and look absolutely gorgeous. They make lovely treasure boxes in which you can store jewellery and other prized possessions, and can also be used as a gift box for someone special. You can also use this technique on larger cardboard boxes, creating an attractive storage box for clothes that are out of season or for other larger personal items.
Time: 60 - 90 minutes
Age: 5-10's, Over 10's
Level: Medium
Materials
Pretty paper such as old gift-wrap, greeting cards or craft paper
Scrapbooking and cardmaking embellishments
Decorative edge papercraft scissors
Optional: lace, narrow ribbon and small bows
Paint the box in acrylic paint. Any colour can be used, as each creates a unique effect. Black serves as a striking contrast to your design, while gold looks lovely if you’re planning to embellish your box with gold beads, rhinestones or glitter glue. Keep this in mind when you paint, as well as the colour of the images that you’ll be sticking onto the box and the purpose for which it will be used.
Depending on how large your box is, take a paper doily and cut it into the desired shape and size. I’ll often use whole doilies on larger boxes, while for smaller ones I’ll usually cut them down to a suitable size. Gently rub the back of the doily with glue and stick it onto the box. Carefully plan where you would like to place these, as they’re not meant to over-power the design, but just add some interesting texture to the background. If desired, use the photos below as a guide.
Sort through the pictures you have, and decide what you’d like to use. If you have a selection of gift-wrapping or photos, carefully cut out the particular images you’d like to work with. To create a traditional effect, I often use lots of flower and butterfly pictures. Glue these gently onto the box, sometimes overlapping them over the doilies or the other cut-outs to create an attractive layered effect. Leave them to dry.
Add a final layer of cut-out images, taking care to balance designs and colours, and once again leave the design to dry. If you want to add some text (a label, gift-tag or other writing) this is the time to do it.
When the decoupage design has completely dried, add some extra embellishments with gold paint or gel pen. Glitter glue also looks fabulous, and adds a beautiful three-dimensional effect.
If you have craft jewels or other scrap-booking embellishments, these can be added once the paint and glue is completely dry.
To achieve the desired ‘shabby chic’ look, an optional border of lace can look very attractive glued around the lid of the box. A few small bows and some extra glitter can also look very pretty. Your decoupage treasure box is now complete.
