One of the most classic forms of crafting is old school painting on a surface. That’s where this hand painted wood box project comes into play. Paint, brushes, a box and unlimited imagination and creativity.
Earlier this year, Walnut Hollow was kind enough to sponsor a workshop on the 10th Annual Crafty Chica Art Cruise. They supplied an Unfinished Wood Box (link takes you to Amazon, or you can find them at the craft store) for each cruiser!
OK, on with the tutorial!
Plaid loaded us up with paint!
Each cruiser also received this gorgeous heart and wing set from Relics and Artifacts (here’s where you can buy a set too: Prima Marketing Relic & Artifacts Archival Cast Embellishments-Rising Spirit I
My problem was that by teaching the class, I never really got to sit down and really work on my own box. I came up with a class sample that was easy to follow and looked very colorful! We had a few boxes left over so I finally had a chance this weekend to sit down and paint three boxes!
Here’s my tutorial to paint your own fabulous box!
Supplies:
One wood box
Assorted craft paints
Assorted brush, soft and stiff, thin and thick.
Spray varnish
Carefully remove the plastic from the box and use sandpaper to lightly smooth any rough edges.
Then base coat! You can use one solid color or mix and match them like I did!
The hardest part is determining what to paint!
Think about what you want to use your box for – a bliss box filled with happy notes, or a jewelry box? Maybe to hold craft supplies or as a gift box? The use of the box will help determine what to paint!
I love to paint Frida, so I went with that, as well as a Frida quote. I also recently taught a canvas class and designed a fun tree of life, so I used that inspiration as well.
Start by sketching with chalk, then add a layer of white, let dry and add the color for your design. The layer of white is to give a nice flat, even background for your top layer design.
Here’s the tree of life in progress. After I add the color on top of the white, I outline everything in black, and then add little white strokes for highlights.
Once all the sides, top and inside are done, painted some wood blocks for the feet.
Then give it a good coat of high gloss varnish!
I glued the heart piece in the center at the top.
I took these photos before I sprayed them with the varnish, otherwise it would be difficult to see the detail!
Instead of patterns, you can use a thin liner brush and add quotes and/or words.
And here are some from our cruisers! This first one is made by my husband, Patrick. It hangs on the wall!
One of the cruisers even used fabric and ribbon to decorate the sides, very smart!
Thank you so much these awesome craft companies who gifted us with these supplies! Please show them some love, and I hope you have a blast painting your own box!
Love & light,
2 Responses
I would like to buy one of the boxes how much are they already painted
This would be a great upcycle for wooden cigar boxes! Just a box or convert to the cigar box purse even.