by Noreen Doll.
A decoupaged Christmas card box is a wonderful, colorful way to use your old Christmas cards while creating a recycled and reusable gift box.
By decoupaging, you can use as large a box as you like, and you’re not limited to a box the size of one Christmas card.
Your kids can help make this one of a kind decoupaged Christmas card box that can use up lots of your Christmas scraps, and will be treasured for many Christmases to come.
You will need:
Mod Podge or a white craft glue
Small sponge brush – to spread glue
1 box with a lid – a shoebox is a good choice and usually sturdy
Several old Christmas cards
Scraps of favorite wrapping paper & designer paper
Bits of ribbon you couldn’t part with
Christmas tags from gifts you received
Any other Christmas scraps you love and want to keep
What you do:
1. Sort your cards and scraps and decide which ones you want to use. Try to have a few more ready than you think you will need.
2. Cut or tear around all your pieces according to how you want them to look.
3. Before you start, you need to decide if you want to bring the collage over the edge of the box to the inside – keeping in mind that the lid may not fit on if you put too thick a layer of cards or Mod Podge where the lid goes over the box edge.
I use a very thin layer of paper when I do cover the edge, but often try to keep most of my collage below the edge of where the box lid reaches when it sits on the box.
4. Choose the lid or side of the box you want to start on. Brush on a coat of Mod Podge or glue – just on the side you are covering.
5. Starting with your larger pieces, lay them around on the wet glue covered surface in a way you like. Don’t overlap the edges on this first layer. Since this will be a collage, nothing needs to be precise.
6. After you have pretty much covered the area, brush a light layer of Mod Podge over the top.
7. Start covering all the places that weren’t covered with the first layer.
This time you will want to overlap the pieces already laid down, and continue, using smaller pieces, until the entire surface is covered.
Now is the time to use small tags, ribbons and bits and pieces, while making sure none of the box peeks through.
8. Brush the entire surface lightly with the Mod Podge or glue and set aside to dry.
9. Continue in this manner until you have covered all the surfaces you want covered, allowing it to dry before you start each new side. You may decide not to cover the bottom – since it won’t be seen, or to cover the entire box.
You may want to cover the inside bottom of the box and lid. If you have lots of cards or wrapping paper scraps you want to use, this is a good way to use them.
10. After you have all the surfaces covered the way you want them, brush a coat of Mod Podge over the entire box to protect it.
It’s really fun and easy to make a decoupaged Christmas card box, and it’s one you or the recipient can enjoy using for a long time to come.
Tips:
I like to use a large sheet of waxed paper as a work surface. If others are working with you, use a dollar store shower curtain to cover the entire surface of the table or wherever you are working.
Have a couple of jars or cans (the same height) handy to turn the box upside down over while it dries.
If you want to cover more than one decoupaged Christmas card box, it works well to do them in assembly line fashion as the first box, or two, can be drying while you work on the next one. Or all the family members can each cover their own box.
I use a hair dryer on low to help the Mod Podge or glue dry faster.
Noreen Doll
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