Back in The Saddle

It's been too long! So long in fact that I went and had a baby girl! The tadpole is now eight weeks old and taking up lots of time and energy... which I mostly enjoy.

In this past week I've managed to find an excuse and a project to get myself back in the crafting way. Here's what I've been up to...

Take one, plain wooden box you bought super cheap, and remove the hinges and latch.

After a light sanding,  paint around all the edges and inside, then glue scrapbook paper cut to size to the inside of the bottom .

Then get to gluing the outside, one side at a time. I cut my pieces out in sequence and glued them as I went to make sure the pattern was continuous. Keep in mind you'll need to put the hardware back on, so poke holes where the screws will go.

Now I waited until I had covered all sides before I sanded off the edges of paper. Don't do that. Although a little more time consuming, I think you'll get a better result if you sand as you go. Just make sure the glue is mostly dry before you do.

Once you're happy with the edges, give the lid and the bottom a couple of coats of glue. This gives it a satin finish and is "water resistant". Of course, you could use polyurethane if you prefer... but I was doing this on the cheap.

Screw the hardware back on and you're done.

A great gift... fill it with lollies or a little surprise, and a great project for the school holidays!

Enjoy

MC

Bless You

I finally made a decision on the Tissue Box cover I bought purely because it was on sale for $3.

After painting the sides cream and the top dark brown, I was stuck on where to go next. So many options. I could keep it simple, get all folksy, or not.

A couple of coats of my rapidly running out cream paint...

After going through the papers I originally bought for the baby's room, I realised I had an entire page I hadn't used yet. I also realised, that sometimes, simple really is better.





Glue on some paper and you're done. Mind the dodgy paint job.

Who really needs a more fancy tissue box cover than this?

Next up, is a lamp revamp and also a chest of drawers spruce up. It's looking as though I'll need to compromise on both of these projects, given time, but mostly budget restrictions. This makes me a little sad, but then again, I do love a challenge.

I also need to change the amount of pink bows on this:

Mr Frog feels it really is too girly, and seeing as there's a 50/50 chance we're having a boy... I have to change it. A fiddly job, but I feel it needs something extra anyway.

Six weeks till my due date... place your bets if you think I'll go early or late! (Pray for early... I'm HUGE!)

MC