Sunday, February 26, 2012

Mini Hat Box Tutorial

Morning folks...I hope you're enjoying your weekend...I've been swinging the lead a little bit since I got home from Stitches...crikey the old body takes longer and longer to recover from these fun trips away...with the Fiskars Workshops at The NEC only a few weeks away and the kits still sitting on my workdesk waiting for the magic "put everything together" fairy to fly in and wave her magic wand I should be putting on my work hat today.  But a visit to see the gorgeous grandkiddies is far more tempting and who's to know if I bunk off from cubbyhole duties for just one more day...I'm sure my secret will be safe with you.
In the meantime...I promised I would share the HOW-TO for the cute Mini Hat Box I made for this month's Colour Challenge over at The Ribbon Girls...I've definitely got the altering bug and it never fails to amaze me that with a little bit of paint you can turn a twee little Christmas box...
into something a little bit more sophisticated in a few easy steps...
 paint each box with a coat of Gesso and allow to dry thoroughly...
then paint with acrylic paint...in my experience Annie Sloan Chalk Paint or Paperartsy Fresco Finish will cover in one coat...most other acrylic paints will probably require 2 coats...again leave to dry thoroughly...when you are painting a paper based product...the surface may bubble a little...don't worry it will flatten out again when it dries.  Now for a little bit of stamping...
A crafty tip...to stamp onto a round surface....ink up your stamp and roll each box over the stamp...reink and roll again until the surface is covered.  You are unlikely to get the stamping absolutely perfect but because it's a shabby chic project...it doesn't matter too much...gives it a great distressed look...
Voila....now for the fun bit....fix some seam binding ribbon around the lids and glue the boxes in place...
a ribbon bow...flowers..tulle and hat pins to finish off

I'm sure you have something in your crafty space that you could alter...have a go it's great fun.  See you all tomorrow
Hugs Kath xxx