This year I’m going to be making more of these little decorated boxes filled with homemade gifts. This year in particular I’d like to show people I’m thinking about them with a personal gift. I really enjoy crafting something for someone else, and I thought I would share the process with you so you can create a bespoke gift for that someone special. I made the original box 4 years ago, but we still use this technique when when designing a wooden gift box for any occasion.
Start By Painting The Wooden Gift Box
I was sent a little box similar to this one. I didn’t want to start something that was overly complicated as I wanted this project to work. I didn’t want something to go wrong along the way so I started off by painting the exterior of the box a light cream colour, using the paint that I’ve been using for painting picture frames.
We originally thought we might leave the inside of the box as it was – letting the beauty of the wood show – but I did paint the interior to make it more cohesive. Two coats of paint inside and out did the trick. I decided not to paint the underside of the box and risk the paint oozing over the edges and ruining the sides of the box.
Add Detail With Glitter
The next step was to use some glittery outline sticker strips to make a little design around sides the lid. The strips were just about the perfect size to cover two sides of the lid, so I used 2. To be honest, I was a little worried these would pop up and come off, but they stayed there very well for the next week until we moved onto our third step. Sometimes crafting with kids in the house means that you start something and then don’t get back to it for a while.
I decided this little box needed more glitter – you can never have too many sparkles at Christmas! I painted the exterior of the box with an irridescent glitter glue using a paint brush for ease. One generous coat worked very well.
Now the box was starting to look more wintery – the sparkly layer reminds me of the snowy days of my youth in Canada when the streetlights sparkled off the freshly-fallen snow in the twilight hours on the walk home from school. Peaceful, beautiful, and wonderful.
Varnish & Decoupage
Two layers of clear satin varnish applied over the glitter glue helped to hold it all in so that rogue sparkles don’t end up around the house. Not everyone is a glitter fan, but this way the recipient will enjoy the beauty of the glitter, but not have to clean it up. It also helps give the box a smoother feel as those little sparkles can be a little a bit rough.
To ‘top off’ this little wooden gift box, I used the front of a Christmas card. I took the embellishment off of the card, gave it its own 2 layers of varnish for durability and then used some double-sided foam tape to hold it onto the box. This gave it more interest, but also means that if the recipient wants to use the box year-round they can carefully take the bear off the top and have a plain creamy white sparkly box.
Fill Your Wooden Gift Box
What would we make to go in our little box?
Not long ago I learned to crochet some little snowflakes and I went crazy with them – including them in Christmas cards to everyone. They were fun to make and give, and I had some lovely comments about them. It’s been a bit of a tradition of mine to give tree ornaments for Christmas; this started when I was just 11 or 12 and had my first pen pals, and it’s carried on. And when they’re homemade, they’re extra-special to give and receive.
A handmade tree ornament can bring back memories year after year as it’s brought out of storage and hung on the tree. I thought some sparkly crocheted snowflakes would go with the sparkly box.
The year I decided to try a different pattern, I started off okay, but then I needed a little help from the ladies at our library’s knit and natter group so that I could make some pretty, sparkling snowflakes. :-). Currently the library doesn’t have any groups running, but I hope the children and I will be able to go back and learn something new when they resume.
I made the snowflakes in 3 colours and 3 sizes for a little variety, and then carefully wrapped them up in the box using nothing other than some pretty sparkly tissue paper. There’s definitely a theme running through here!
I was pleased with how well this little wooden gift box turned out. The children and I have replicated this process with other themes, too, such as Roald Dahl’s golden ticket with embellishments like the ones used in this simple gift craft, and filled the box with chocolates wrapped colourful papers. Have fun personalising each box according to the recipient’s likes and personality.
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