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By
Sadie Hayes |
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Looking for a new way to play with your paper stash? What about those embellishments? We’ve got the answer: Cute little Sara’s Surfaces™ Boxes—miniature boxes in familiar shapes that make great gift packaging or party favors. And they’re so versatile: Each type of box can be used for a variety of occasions and there are countless ways to decorate them. Designers LeNae Gerig and Tessa Bundy share a few of their favorite techniques for decorating these little boxes.
About Sara’s Surfaces™ Boxes:
These boxes come flat—they’re much easier to stamp or alcohol ink when flat. The sturdy surface is glossy on one side and matte on the other, giving you plenty of design options!
Covering with paper:
One of the simplest ways to decorate a box is to cover it with patterned or specialty paper. Run a glue stick over the glossy side of the flattened box, making sure to coat the edges well. Place the paper on the box, then turn the box over and trim the excess paper with scissors or an X-acto® knife. For her mini purse project, LeNae covered the box in striped paper. Patterns such as stripes can be a bit tricky to match up, but LeNae has a great technique for easy and seamless coverage. She cut her 12”x12” striped paper from Autumn Backgrounds to 3 1/4”x12” with the stripes running vertically. This way, when she covers the front and back panels of the box with the paper, the stripes match up. (Tip: It’s easier to cover each section of the purse separately while the purse is unfolded, rather than trying to wrap the paper around the edges.)
Stamping:
These boxes can easily be stamped with StazOn ink, as it dries quickly and has a permanent finish. LeNae used black StazOn ink and a stipple brush on all sides of the large pizza box to create a textured background. (Tip: Stippling is a great way to transfer color to your project, especially in the hard-to-reach places where a sponge or ink pad won’t fit.) She then stamped the front panel using black ink and the script background from the Delicate Patterns acrylic stamp set. (Tip: It’s much easier to do stamping on your box before you fold it into shape. Place Post-it® notes on the areas you don’t want stamped, to protect them.)
Embellishing:
The gift-wrap potential for these cute little surfaces is endless. Tessa used the fry box to create a “get well” survival kit. She covered the front and back inside with paper from the Bohemian sarapapers™ collection and embellished with a flower and brad from Bohemian Embellish-abilities™, tapping the embossed brad with a black inkpad before attaching the flower. She even included a get well checklist on the back listing the items inside such as chamomile tea and cough drops.
Whether simple, or sophisticated, these products make great gifts to give and receive!
To see the entire Sara’s Surfaces™ box line, click here. And check out this month's Paper Crafting article for a sweet step-by-step project idea!
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