An Altered Wodden Box

Came back from one of my many trips to KL recently with a tub of texture paste. I have been reading how great this medium is and have wanted to try. A quick search in Nadiah's toy boxes and I found a perfect wooden box which is perfect for altering.

I'm very happy with the end result of this box. I managed to get that old, antiquey look that I love. It's quite easy to make this but time consuming, what with waiting for things to dry, which I'm so not good at!!

Ok, so this is what I've done:
First I painted the box with dark gold acrylic paint. Just lightly on the edges. The I mod podged the patterned papers on the sides and top of the box. Because I cut the papers slightly shorter, the gold paint can be seen of the edges. Make sure you seal the edges of the papers with mod podge once they are dry.

Then drop a little glob of gesso on the surface and using a thin piece of chipboard (or an old credit card would suffice) and spread the gesso lightly this way and that. Very roughly and thin so that you can still see the printed paper but at the same time it gives the antique look.

Once that's dried, distress the surface with a distressed ink pad or paint lightly. Leave it to dry.

To make the alphabets on the side, you would need some texture paste, a stencil and a spreading tool (I just use those popsicle stick you usually get in a packet of rub ons).
Place the stencil on the side surface. Secure with masking tape if you don't want it to move about. Scoop some texture paste and spread over the stencil, making sure you fill it up. Use the spreading tool to move the paste about. Somewhat like spreading icing on a cake. One you're sure the stencil is filled, scrape the excess paste and gently lift up the stencil. Make sure it's completely dried and harden before doing the same on the other side. This is the part that I'm bad at... waiting for it to dry. I left it overnight to be on the safe side.

Once the alphas are dried and harden, paint it any way you like. I used Ranger's Perfect Pearls to get that pearly, shimmery look. I love Perfect Pearls. The result is so beautiful. For a more intense look, I mix the pearls with a little water. When dried, just brush dry powder of another colour lightly over it.

Lastly, embellish the box any way you want. I used American Craft Chipboard Thickers for the word NOTES and lightly sand to distress the letters.

Thanks for dropping by and hope the tips and techniques helps. Give it a try and leave a comment for a link. I would love to see what everyone comes up with.