Monthly Archives: December 2011

Decorated Gift Box

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I hope you enjoyed the fun handmade note card ideas this week. My initial reason to make the handmade cards was because I was going to gift the set to one of my best friends as a birthday present. I wanted a fun way to give them to her so I decorated a wooden box that she could use for either storing jewelry, photos or maybe even craft supplies of her own.

Here is a tutorial on how I decorated the box.

Supplies:

- Box – I bought mine from Michael’s

- Phillips screw driver

- Spray paint

- Fabric

- Fabric iron

- Mod Podge

- Sponge brush

- Scissors

- Painter’s tape

- Stencils

- Acrylic paint

- Small or medium paint brush

- Rhinestone

- Strong glue

Step 1

Use your screw driver to remove all hardware pieces and set aside.

Step 2

Use sandpaper to smooth the outside surface and wipe clean with a dry cloth.

Step 3

Iron out any wrinkles in your fabric.

Step 4

Apply a light coat of Mod Podge to your fabric and allow to dry at least 20 min.

Step 5

To create a fabric lining for the lid and inside bottom of the box, flip the fabric over and trace the box shape with a pencil. Cut your traced pieces. You will need to trim a bit more depending on the thickness of the box edges. Set aside.

Step 6

Spray paint. I really like using spray paint when I want a solid, smooth and even color. For tips on spray painting, check out this video from one of my favorite blogs, Censtational Girl. The biggest tip I can give is to spray very lightly and let each coat dry before adding the next to avoid drips. I used a white paint and primer in one. Don’t forget your protective face mask!

Step 7

Once boxes are dry, use Mod Podge to adhere the cut fabric pieces to the inside lid and bottom of the box.

Step 8

I then placed painter’s tape on the top and around the box to create lines. Paint and then remove tape.

Step 9

Place your stencil on the box. I highly recommend adhesive stencils to avoid bleeding under the stencil. Paint and remove stencil.

Step 10

I couldn’t resist adding a tiny sparkle on the top of the box. I grabbed my Liquid Fusion glue and placed a tiny Swarovski crystal on the top.

Step 11

Replace hardware.

Done!

♥♥

Arica

Day 4: Flower & Rhinestone Handmade Note Card

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I’ve always loved pink roses so for our final handmade note card idea we will use fabric, Mod Podge, green metallic paint and a rhinestone to create 3D flower art.

Day 4

Flower & Rhinestone Handmade Note Card

Supplies

- Blank note cards

- Small piece of fabric

- Mod Podge

- Sponge brush

- Scissors

- Metallic acrylic paint

- Medium sized paint brush

- Painter’s tape

- Ruler

- Pencil

- Glue

- Rhinestone

- Acrylic finishing spray

Step 1

Lay out your fabric and apply thin coat of Mod Podge and allow to dry at least 20 min. This will allow you to cut shapes out of the fabric without the ends fraying.

Step 2

While you wait for your fabric to dry, measure out and mark spots with a pencil to guide your painter’s tape. I measured about 1/2″ from the outside in to create a blank frame.

Step 3

Paint the entire center section of your note card. I used a rich peridot metallic green acrylic paint but you really could use any paint suitable for card stock paper. I needed a couple of coats. Be sure to let each coat dry before adding the next. Remove painter’s tape.

Step 4

Take your fabric piece and cut out teardrop shapes in three sizes. Depending on how big you want your flower will determine the actual size of each “petal”.

Step 5

Take your first petal and glue it to a tiny square of paper. Start with the larger sized petals. Then add three more of that size so you end up with four evenly spaced petals as your base. Continue to the next size and repeat for the final smaller petals.

Step 6

Apply Mod Podge to the backside of your flower and adhere to note card.

Step 7 (Optional)

I decided to use an acrylic finishing spray for my flower and card to created a more glossy look. However, it looks great without the spray so it’s an optional step.

Step 8

Using a strong glue, attach your rhinestone to the center of the flower. I used Liquid Fusion.

Finished! Now you have a beautiful one-of-a-kind handmade card with lots of texture and life.

♥♥

Arica

Decoupage Handmade Note Card

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For our third installment of handmade note card ideas, we will use scraps of tissue paper, Mod Podge and metallic acrylic paint to create a unique card with a lot of texture. It looks a bit like stained glass in the end.

Day 3

Decoupage Handmade Note Card

Supplies

- Blank note cards

- White paper

- Colorful tissue

- Mod Podge

- Painter’s tape

- Ruler

- Pencil

- Metallic acrylic paint

- Stack of heavy books

- Clear acrylic spray

Step 1

Tear up different colored tissue papers into small 1-2″x1-2″ squares. Be sure to choose colors that work layered over each other. I chose a teal, yellow and aqua.

Step 2

Glue a layer of one color at a time with Mod Podge onto white paper.

Step 3

Seal with a light coat of Mod Podge and let dry at least 15-20 min.

Step 4

Cut out a rectangle to fit over the center of the blank note card and set aside.

Step 5

Measure out small marks with a pencil for your painter’s tape, about 1″ from the outside of the card.

Step 6

Paint a few coats of the metallic paint which will create a border around the layered tissue rectangle. Pull off painter’s tape and allow to fully dry at least 15 min.

Step 7

Use Mod Podge to adhere layered tissue piece to the card. Once dry place under large stack of heavy books for a couple hours.

Step 8

Spray with clear acrylic finish.

A real piece of paper art!

♥♥

Arica

Mod Podge & Paper Handmade Note Card

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The second installment of our handmade note cards will utilize Mod Podge to adhere and seal patterned paper to note cards.

Day 2

Mod Podge & Paper

Supplies:

- Blank note cards

- Ruler

- Scissors

- Patterned paper

- Mod Podge

- Sponge brush

- Acrylic Sealing Spray

- Heavy Books

Step 1

Measure and cut your patterned paper to fit over the note card leaving 1/8″ – 1/2″ of note card showing. I trimmed to show 1/8″ of the note card showing.

Step 2

Apply light coat of Mod Podge with sponge brush and adhere to note card. Allow to dry at least 15-20 min.

Step 3

Apply 2 light coats of Mod Podge. Let each coat fully dry before adding the next. Allow to fully dry at least 15-20 min.

Step 4 – (Optional)

Lightly spray a coat of the acrylic sealer. Allow to fully dry at least 2 hours.

Step 5

Once the sealer is dry, place under large stack of heavy books because you will find the card wants to curl.

So simple!

♥♥

Arica

Four Days of Handmade Note Cards

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I’m really looking forward to the New Year because I love the feeling of a fresh start. I know New Year’s resolutions have a tendency to get shelved far sooner than we would usually like. However, maybe the concept of a daunting list of resolutions is the problem. My plan is to make one single resolution and truly work on it for an entire month. Once that month is done I will attempt to add another and so on for the rest of the year. My resolution is to be more thoughtful. It can be as simple as a happy message on a Post-it note.

When we live in such an electronic world, it’s so nice to receive something handwritten. How lovely would it be to not only write a handwritten message but to send on a handmade card? I have come up with four different ways to make your own note cards. I will be posting one idea each day today through Thursday and on Friday I am featuring a way to present the cards as a gift.

Day 1

Watercolor & Stencil

Supplies:

- Blank note cards

- Painters tape

- Ruler

- Pencil

- Large and small paint brush

- Watercolor paint

- Metallic acrylic paint

- Stencil

Step 1

Make small marks with your pencil, 1/4″ -  3/4″ in from all sides to create a guide for your painter’s tape. I went in 1/2″ in from each side.

Step 2

Place painter’s tape on all four sides, creating a framed center to paint. A blank frame will make your design pop and look a little more polished.

Step 3

Grab your watercolors and water down the paint with some water. I was able to create three different shades of blue simply by using varied amounts of water.

I suggest starting with an overall light base then adding more color with less water for a deeper hue. Have fun with it!

Step 4

Once the paint is fully dry, remove the painter’s tape. Next, attach your adhesive stencil or tape down a non-adhesive stencil. I used this one. Paint 1-3 coats of acrylic paint over your stencil design and remove stencil while paint is still wet. I used a champagne metallic paint color for my stencil design.

Step 5

Stand back and admire your handy work.

♥♥

Arica