Box full o' memories

Hello out there world!

I love the Sunday Funnies. Who out there doesn't? Sometime's you run across a comic strip that's just so hysterical and timeless that you cut it out and pin it to a cork board or tape it to your cubicle wall (if they allow that at your office). Since I was little, I have done this and while cleaning up my clost, I found all the old scraps of comics that I had been keeping in a shoebox.

So in honor of this find, this week's project was a simple decoupage box. Decoupage is a French term and its used to describe the technique of decorating an object with cut outs of paper and paint techniques and varnishing the finished project. Now there is no right or wrong way of doing this. I didn't use paint techniques on this box, but you can certainly embellish your project with gold leaf or decorative touches.

What you'll need is white school glue, scissors, any old magazine or newspaper clippings that you like, Mod Podge in glossy finish (or any type of craft varnish), and a small paint brush (not too small, you'll be spreading the Mod Podge and glue with it).

1. First I chose the comics I wanted to display on my box. I trimmed them down so there wasn't an excess paper around the edges and made sure that the edges were even.

2. Then I picked out a box. I used the old shoebox that I found my clippings in. You can also get small wooden or durable cardboard boxes at a craft store for pretty cheap. Just make sure that you choose a vessel that will withstand the test of time sine you're putting so much effort into making it look pretty.

3. Take the white school glue and spread a THIN (and I stress the THIN part) layer of it where you'll be placing your first clipping. If the glue isn't spread thinly, you will get bubbling and that will just get magnified when you varnish your finished product. Also be very careful with placing your clippings. You don't want anything to tear if you decide you don't like the location of something. Plan ahead!

4. Once you're done gluing everything in place initially, you can varnish your finished project. If you're putting paint embellishments on, do one coat of varnish, let it dry, paint a layer, then do another coat of varnish. I put about 4 coats of Mod Podge on my box to get the desired affect. I didn't want to feel any seams along my comic strips and I wanted to make sure that none of them would be peeling off. I waited about 5 hours between each layer since it was a rainy day and it didn't dry as quickly as I would have liked. If it doesn't feel tacky or sticky, go ahead and put another layer on. Also, I found a few extra comics that I really liked and placed them on the inside of the box.

So its a pretty simple project and its great for kids too. When I used to babysit, I had the kids make a decoupage jewelry box for Mother's Day. I cut out pictures of flowers from Better Homes & Garden magazines. It was a lot of fun, easy clean up, and it gets the creative juices flowing.

So have fun with it. Make it something special because we all know that we have shoeboxes full of pay stubs or photos (well, maybe not anymore, but I certainly do) or knicknacks. So why not make it look beautiful and spend some time getting imaginative instead of watching a rerun on TV?

Till the next project!!