Make Your Own Decorative Boxes

I have a post coming up soon entitled "Feathers In My Food." I think you'll want to see the creation I made. ;-)
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Many years ago when I was crafting every single day after coming home from my office, I decided I wanted some boxes covered in beautiful papers and fabrics. Understand now that I absolutely devoted most hours outside of work to crafting. I absolutely loved it. So today I thought I'd share how to make these kind of boxes below. I'll give you the dimensions and instructions. The rest is up to you. You can use fabric or paper; it's up to you. I've shown you two of ones I've made. The purple roses box is fabric, and the red and pink roses is that gorgeous paper I love so much from The Gifted Line by John Grossman.

They are approximately the same size. I'll give you the instructions and measurements but it's up to you to do the construction. These little boxes are more for show than actual storage boxes; although, I keep pencils in them or my sealing wax and Dyno Label Maker in the other one. But I wouldn't keep anything heavy in them. Again, just for show. ;-)

You'll need foam board. I used 3/8" so that I could "score"—meaning to go a bit of the way through the foam board without cutting all the way through so you can bend it. You'll need to bend it but keep it together. For my size box below, I cut a piece 16" long and 8 & 3/8" wide. I scored it at 6 & 1/2" from the one end and then 9 & 1/2" from the same side. Or in other words, I scored it 6 & 1/2" from each short side. I then bent it carefully as to not split it. Be very careful. Then I cut another piece of foam board 28 & 3/8" long and 2 & 1/2" wide. I scored that piece at 6" and at 7 & 3/4". Using glue to attach together the 2 ends of the LONG piece I scored.

You cover it with your paper or fabric before you start making it, just after cutting it out. Then you glue. I used a glue gun. You can use any glue you want that sticks though. After covering the large piece and the long piece, you glue it together. Then I hot glued a ribbon around it to secure it.

I've read this so much I'm not sure if it makes sense to you, but if you want to try this and it's not clear, email me and I'll help you all I can. It truly is easy.

These boxes are 6 & 1/2" front to back and 8 & 3/8" wide and 2 & 1/2" high or deep.

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I love this living room setting. Just the way the homeowner has everything arranged, very cozy.

A beautiful approach to a rustic door.

Okay, no privacy here at all. I'd feel like Sasquatch was always watching me.

Just simple eye candy for you.

Be still my beating heart. However, I would keep wondering when it is going to come crashing down on my head. Looks a bit heavy.

Smiling at ya!

I don't know whether this is a fabric or a painting but it's one of my favorite photos of roses.

Just a beautiful setting for you. Very peaceful.

Sweet vignette at a bistro.

An old Victorian in San Francisco, my favorite city in the whole world. I love shopping there.

Did you hear that the mailboxes in the hometown of an Olympic Gold Medal Winner in the UK gets its mail boxes painted gold? Usually the boxes are a bright red. But what a sweet idea to help the hometown men and women celebrate a hometown victory. Bless their hearts for doing this for them!

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How To Make a Rose Tree Topper for Pink Saturday 12/26/09

Thank you to Beverly of HowSweetTheSound for hosting Pink Saturday. Go visit with her and see hundreds of chicks displaying all the pink things they could find.
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My reason for so many photos is not to be prideful or to bore you with a plethora of photos, which pretty much look the same; it's to give you every possible view of this wreath so that those of you who would like to make one for yourselves can see to your maximum advantage how it is done and what I used. It is truly one easy wreath to make.

Start with a small straw or grapevine wreath. Wrap it in tinsel garland of your choice of color. I used ones I bought at the Dollar Store for $1.00 for 9 ft. I used 2 of them. Start by tucking the starting end and securing it by wrapping a few times around it. End by doing another tuck or hot glue or a pin. It's up to you. I just tucked. I'm lazy!

Then I started with the roses by pushing the stems into the wreath. They will stay easily and come out easily if you want to take them off and save them in a spot without getting crushed until next year. I used about 12 or 14 of them. OR you can choose another flower or even some other ornament. You could even add twigs painted white or pink stuck up to look like a crown.

I then put a little candle wreath on top of that. Just laid it there. It will stay once on the tree. I have a couple of these left over from a sale Michaels was having after last Easter. You could use any color you prefer, but, as always, pink dominates in this house. ;-)

I then stuck in a couple of glittery greenery purchased at Joanns for 80¢ each into the wreath. It stays also with no glue.

I then stole a very high end truly real looking rose out of one of the many bouquets around this house knowing it wouldn't be missed with all the other roses around and stuck it down through the center of the wreath until it stopped with a branch of the tree. It is NOT attached to the wreath, but held in place by it and the tree itself.

And this one I made also...to give away! Squeeeeeeeal...... ;-)

I had one extra little wreath left over from many years ago and found a spectacular sparkly bling candle wreath at Michaels the other day so you know what I had to do with it. Yep, another tree topper. But this one is now on the tree. So I have a choice of two wreaths for next year. I had to wire this candle wreath to the main wreath as it was heavier than the other ones. Then I added the roses, pearls and stuck in a bit of greenery I had in my craft room. Voilà!! This little jewel will stay in the family!

The tree topper on the tree now. Truly spectacular with all that glittery bling. Steph!!!!!!!! How do you like it, sugar sistah? Smooches for mum. XOXOXOXO

And there you have it, so go and create, chicks!
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