glue together a shell mosaic box

I chose to make this box to hold a gift of pens and brushes for one of my adult children this year.

Brief Description: Although this craft is simple in its application, the design work used in such a project may be very complex. The key here is to work slow if you should choose to use a cardboard box to decorate instead of a wooden one. Otherwise, the walls of the box could warp while your work is drying. 

Supply List:

• wood glue
• a bag of tiny stones
• shells
• a sturdy box with a lid 

Directions:

1. Lay out your mosaic supplies and determine the pattern that you would like to use in the creation of your decorative gift box.
2. I chose to arrange these tiny shells in a simple floral design. I used wood glue to adhere the shells first to the surface of my box lid. Then I let this dry overnight.
3. Then I carefully applied the wood glue to small areas of the lid and covered these with my tiny stones. These areas were approximately two inches in diameter. Let each area dry completely before proceeding to the next application of stones. Again, this will help prevent the surface of your lid from warping.

A few close shots of the surface of my gift box: left, is a side view, right, a top view of the floral shell pattern.

Watch a CraftKlatch sea shell coaster craft.

See also the stone resin coaster by the same crafter.

Upcycle a candy box into a Valentine scrapbook

Above is the recycled chocolate box lid
with fancy "LOVE" lettering.

Brief Description: This heart shaped scrapbook comes with it's very own box container. It is a perfect place to keep love letters, photos, and Valentines, of course.

Supply List:

• Heart shaped chocolates box (recycled)
• Decorative scrap letters
• Decorative wrapping paper, enough to cover the box and also cut out a front cover page for the scrapbook
• Two large binding rings.
• A stack of solid colored paper, large enough to cut custom shaped pages for your scrapbook
• White Glue
• Scissors
• Hole punch

Directions:

   1. Clean out the recycled chocolate box thoroughly before beginning the project.

   2. Lay out the lid of your box top on top of the wrapping paper and draw around the heart shape. If you wish to cover the edges as well, I suggest you do so with a long narrow strip of paper matching the dimensions of the sides of the box. This will make your box look cleaner and more professional. The box pictured in the photo above had velvet trim and I chose to leave this intact.

   3. You will need to repeat the same step for the back side of the box.

   4. Glue the wrapping paper on the edges only to the box. Use a very narrow line of glue. Some of you may choose to use a spray adhesive for this project, but, white glue is just fine for young children.

   5.The lettering in my sample project was purchased at a Hobby Lobby. All I had to do was peal and stick it directly onto my lid. You may wish to visit some font collections on the web instead and print some illuminated letters on your home computer instead.

   6. After decorating your recycled chocolate box, cut a stack of pages just 1/4 inch smaller than the lid so that these will fit neatly into your heart shaped container.
   7. Punch holes into the stack of pages and clip these together with a couple of red binding rings. 

Above is the heart shaped scrapbook and the 
bottom of the box it fits into. It is advisable to cut
a few additional pages that may be added later.

All photos and descriptions copyrighted by Grimm 2017

Really neat Valentine scrapbook by Juhi K.

More Valentine Box Crafts:

• DIY candy filled heart box for 18" dolls - adorable clay canndies
• Craft a Welsh Corgi Valentine Mailbox by kathy grimm - template included too

decoupage a valentine post box

Above is a traditional, Valentine mailbox made
from a shoebox. (Note. The heavenly, halo effect around the
Valentine mailbox is necessary for proper interpretation.)

Brief Description: During my own childhood, Valentine's Day was celebrated in school with ambitious dedication. Every child took great care to design a shoe box that would reflect one's superior crafting skill and every teacher would complain about the wasted time given them during school. Annually homeroom teachers would beg the art teacher or parents to take over the craft, but to no avail. Kiddom would not allow the Valentine custom to die out; the making of the mail boxes was almost equal to the "sanctity" of Santa Claus, but not quite.

Supply List:

•  one shoe box
•  white butcher paper
•  scissors
•  white glue
•  Mod Podge
•  ribbon and rick rack to trim
•  Victorian scraps
•  paper clay molded angels, hearts, etc...
•  scotch tape
•  one pack of white paper clay, I prefer Model Magic for small children
•  candy mold tray, one with a Valentine theme, these may be purchased from a craft, hobby or cake decorating store.
•  tacky glue
•  soft camel-hair brush

Directions:

1.  Follow the simple directions on the Model Magic label.
2.  Mold as many little candy decorations with the paper clay as you wish. Let these dry for an hour after removing them from the candy mold.
3.  Cut a generous slot into the shoe box lid, this is where the letters are pushed into the Valentine mailbox.
4.  Wrap the shoebox in white butcher paper. Wrap the lid and the bottom half of the box separately. Tape down the edges of the paper with scotch tape on the interior of the box so that the wrapping will appear seamless.
5.  Now cut out your Valentine scraps. These may be downloaded and printed from a great variety of resources from across the web or purchased.
6.  Paste the pictures down to cover the surface of the shoe box.
7.  Paste the molded, Valentine motifs randomly onto the surface of the decorated box.
8.  Glue the trim around the bottom edge of the shoe box lid with tacky glue.
9.  Cover the entire outside surface of the decorated shoe box with Mod Podge using a soft, camel hair brush. Let the Valentine mailbox dry over night.

Overlap slightly the Valentine scraps and white, paper clay pieces.

The SITS Girls show how to make 

a Valentine Letter Mailbox.

Craft More Valentine Mailboxes:

• Valentine mailbox competition at doll school
• "Sweet Notes" from laura vegas 
• Mailbox Valentine Countdown
• Dog Themed Mailbox - Welsh Corgi

make a miniature decoupage bottle

Mona Lisa smiles on this miniature
decoupaged bottle.

Brief Description: Turn miniature bottles into keepsakes.

Supply List:

• miniature bottle
• tiny metal star
• decorative string
• Mona Lisa graphic
• blue butterfly wings (below)
• Mod Podge
• soft brush
• scissors
• glitter
• white glue

Directions:

1. Thoroughly clean and dry the bottle you intend to work with.
2. Cut out the pictures that you wish to include in the project. I've included a set of blue butterfly wings for you to download below.
3. Glue the pictures and glitter in place with ordinary white glue.
4. Now layer the Mod Podge on top of your work with a soft brush and let this dry. 
5. String the star onto a twine and wrap this firmly around the bottles neck and knot. 

Additional Suggestions: These little hand-crafted vases are perfect for miniature collections.

Blue butterfly wings.
This template may be downloaded and sized in a
word document. Read the Terms of Use before
using it folks.

All instructions, template and photographs copyrighted by Grimm 2017

Watch Aggie Craft paint and decoupage a bottle.

Assemble an embroidered bouquet wrap

You may wish to hang this bouquet
by a vintage dressing table.

Brief Description: I think this is a lovely way to give a simple bouquet of flowers. Baby's breath and red roses would look delightful tucked inside of this embroidered wrap. I used tissue paper flowers for the photograph because these were what I had at hand. Make something new out of something old. 

Supply List:

• embroidered pot holder
• embroidery floss, I used red
• embroidery needle
• scissors

Directions: 

1. Turn the pot holder face down and fold together two of it's opposite points to create the cone shape. Pin down the sides if necessary.
2. Thread your embroidery needle as thickly as you wish and stitch these two side together with a firm decorative stitch. 
3. Stuff the cone shaped wrap with a posy and give it to your sweetheart or friend.

Additional Suggestions: For those of you who still celebrate May Day, this little project would be quiet charming. There are so many of these little embroidered pot holders for sale in antique malls and flee markets for mere pocket change.

The cone shape allows for a charming little
package for rose buds and baby's breath.

An old-fashioned pot holder I picked up in a local antique shop.

All patterns and photographs by Grimm copyrighted 2011.

upcycle your old sweater into a throw pillow

My hand knit sweater looks much better as a pillow!

Brief Description: Ever wonder what you could possible do with old 80s sweaters? Yes, I understand that some things should never be resurrected but, this one had never even been worn. Hard to believe, isn't it?

Supply List:

• old sweaters in excellent condition
• large embroidery needle
• matching embroidery floss
• stuffing inside of a pillow form or cushion material cut to size.

Directions:

1. Cut the sweater approximately 1/8 inch larger than the measurement of your pillow.
2. You will need two identical sides and these may be sewn together to either hide the seam or not, depending on the look that is most appropriate for the sweater's surface.
3. The pictured knit pillow was sewn with the right sides facing out. I sewed the seams twice with a heavy blanket stitch. I find this necessary when working with something that was formerly knit. 
4. Attempt to catch every loop of the knitting with the embroidery floss, otherwise your pillow will unravel.
5. Stuff the pillow with the pillow form, not loose cotton batting. Loose batting will eventually get pulled out from in between the knitting!

Additional Suggestions: A heavily textured knit looks best when sewn together with a similar seam.  For a finer seam, it would be best to stitch the knitted pieces on a sewing machine in order to prevent unraveling.

photographs and written craft pages copyrighted by Grimm 2017 

Upcycle old sweaters into handbags with Craftbrulee.
In England, sweaters are called jumpers.