Small Victories

Since I've spent the better part of this week working at school, I haven't spent much time working on the myriad summer projects lined up at home. Though adapting new curriculum standards is gratifying (especially since it means I have long-term planning squared away for my juniors), it isn't particularly fulfilling in a creative way. So, I spent a little time each morning working on a small project with some big punch.

Recently, when I was in East Tennessee, I kept seeing painted tin stars. My favorite had a sky blue background with a little bit of softness added in sponged on clouds and a series of birds painted across the points. These sold for about $35 in several places. Deciding I couldn't bring myself to pay that much for a painted star, I resolved to make my own. Last week I found a plain star at JoAnn's for about $7, but after carrying it around the store, I couldn't decide where to hang it and opted for this $3 pressed cardboard craft box instead figuring I could put some of my ever-growing collection of costume jewelry inside. (Actually, having finished this one, I'm leaning toward doing a couple more so I can create a display with the storage.) 

First, I painted the box in a basic sky blue (using plain craft paint from my stash). Since it is cardboard (read susceptible to warping under too much moisture) it's better to do this in several light coats. The good news is that the paint soaks in quickly and by the time I finished covering the box with one coat, it was dry enough for the next. Following this step, I walked away for the day, but I'm sure an hour of drying time would be sufficient to move on.

Next, I "sponged" on some white paint. My intent was to apply a little and then soften it with a stippling brush to give a cloud effect, but I liked the starker contrast of the bright white against the blue, so I skipped that part. I achieved this effect using a tiny amount of paint and a piece of wadded up plastic wrap. I applied the white to the outside, but left the inside solid blue.

While the paint dried, I cut up a gift bag (el-cheapo deluxe from Dollar Tree). This was a pretty small bag, but it yielded plenty of flowers and birds to apply. (Of course, if you're more artistically talented than I am, you could paint your own directly on the box.) Cutting around all the little leaves and details was the hardest part of the whole project.

Next, I used a good coating of paste (from a glue stick) to adhere the cutouts to the box. The glue stick is pretty slick and forgiving which allows time to move the pieces around. Just be sure to stick down all the little pieces and edges. Finally, use a sponge brush to apply a thin layer of white school glue over the entire piece to seal it. This photo is the top/front of the box.

Side one of the box

Back of the box

Side two of the box

Inside the box