How to Create an Inspirational Mixed Media Box

Good morning, Melissa here with my tutorial on how I altered the cute little box from our July kit.

I love quotes. They make me feel good. I usually try and incorporate them into my journal pages and other mixed media pieces. This little box was no exception. The birds from the Artchix collage sheet inspired me to find a perfect quote. I was thinking of my sister at the time. She's was going through a rough patch and I wanted to send some healing and positive thoughts her way. With this in mind I went to work on altering the box first.

The first thing I did was cut patterned paper to line the entire inside of the box. I used the Claudine Helmuth matte medium to do this. I should say here that I love this stuff! It goes on wonderfully smooth, adheres well without making your hands all sticky, and has no odor that I could detect. The last thing is very important to me, as I have young children who are almost always in the room with me when I'm creating. When that was complete, I marked the edges of the box and attached the Tim Holtz hinges. Then I wrapped the edges of the inside lid with the Prima washi tape to cover the brad prongs.

The next step was to cover the lid and sides using the Ranger paint dabbers. I just dabbed and mixed with the end of a dry paintbrush until I got a nice distressed finish. I also added some paint to the hinges. Then I created a mini collage using the Artchix clip art and a few bits of washi tape. Over the top I added the crackle finish and the little cabochon (from my stash) in the corner. I also used some leftover paper twine from the June kit to make the little bow. Everything was adhered using the matte medium from the kit.

I continued to collage the other sides of the box, using some papers from my stash, the paint dabbers from the kit, and washi tape.

I got all of the little cards together that fit inside of the box and laid them out. I decided to do little mini collages for each one, add a quote, and tie them all together like a fold out banner. Using the paint dabbers I started creating the background for each one. I then cut out images from the clip art sheet and inked all of the edges using Distress Ink in Vintage Photo (a favorite of mine for sure!). I also used the Prima washi tape and a roller stamp to tie all of the pieces together. I made sure to use the same basic materials for each mini collage, but added something a little different for each one. I wanted it to have a cohesive look. I found a quote that I liked, printed it out, and cut it up into smaller bits to add to each piece.

To finish off the mini banner, I collaged some inspirational words that I cut out from a thesaurus and glued them to the backside of the squares. I punched holes in the pieces and tied them all together, again using the leftover twine from the June kit. I also inked around the edges using the green paint dabber.

And here is the final product!

Thanks for stopping by--have fun creating! :)

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