kids and adults alike

A bit of ambition and inspiration struck yesterday, so I decided to take on a quick, make-do project. Remember, my make-do ideas are strictly no spending, no store trips. The only shopping done is shopping my house to see what I can come up with.

After making some note cards as a gift for a friend, I needed something to put them in, so the search was on. There were two decent white board boxes, but one was too small and while the perfect size, the lid on the second box was yellowed and had some small dents; not good gift material! All the available decorative bags were winter themed and that was definately out. Any gift paper found was too heavy to wrap the small box lid smoothly. I have lots of wrapping tissue, so chose three bright colors for a collage effect for the box lid.

Adults and kids alike find this a fun, easy application with beautiful results, that can be used in many ways.

The supply list is simple.

Colored tissue wrapping paper, water based glue and plain water. That’s all you need. I use either Elmer’s white glue or as in this case, Tacky glue. Both work well, but Elmer’s is a bit thinner consistency and will dry a little quicker, which is nice for this project, but not a must. Tacky was in my cabinet so that’s what I used here. If you have a flat, synthetic craft brush, it comes in handy, but plain old fingers work fine too (they’re just a little messier 🙂 ).

1. Tear your tissue into pieces sized for easy work with your object. Here we’re covering the lid of a small box so don’t want very big pieces.

2. Squeeze some glue over a section of your object, then smooth the glue over that portion, adding just a drop or two of water to make a damp glaze.

3. Lay on a piece of paper, then gently pinch at the paper to create wrinkled texture.

4. Continue until the top is well covered, then wet a side of the lid and adhere smaller sized pieces. Work them into the wet top. Leave a dry edge hanging down at the bottom of the box’s sides. DON’T wrap glue and paper into the inside of the lid.

5. Repeat until you get desired look and texture. Let dry, then carefully trim off dry edges.

TIP 1: Tear your tissue rather than cut. Jagged, natural edges are more interesting in this application.
TIP 2: Don’t use a natural bristle brush as glue is difficult to remove completely. Even with synthetic, keep your brush wet when not in use, so that glue isn’t able to dry and damage brush. Wash up with warm water and ordinary dish liquid.
TIP 3: After completed project dries, add one final coating of glue over entire surface, to give a nice sheen to your finished piece.

Finally, I lined the box with tissue, then put the envelopes, more tissue and lastly the cards. This was a set of eight note cards and I always include two extra envelopes.
An inexpensive, quick and easy project that any age will enjoy making OR receiving.

My friend Linda loved her gift!