Tuesday, December 17, 2013

DIY fashion box - Collage/Decoupage.

So, I finally finished a DIY that I feel comfortable sharing with the Interwebz.

I made this box for my good friend for Christmas, and placed some goodies inside...it was an old wooden cigar box I found at an antique shop and decided to cover it over with some images from this past year in fashion.  I just tore up or cut up a bunch of old fashion magazines, and kept it black and white to keep things a little more visually striking.

top view of box lid
i used pages from Vogue and some antique book pages

I actually decopaged the whole box first, then used a utility knife to slit open the box around the edges, it made for a very clean design.  








I love collage because it's very "user friendly", non-toxic, and usually yields a stunning result, even if you don't have a lot of artistic aptitude...just a cool way to personalize a gift.  Decoupage is a pretty ancient technique with a fascinating history.  The surrealists liked to play around with this too...

To make something like this, you'll need :
1)  a wooden, cardboard, or paper box
2) Mod Podge (a kind of glue/sealer/sticky thing) and clear Acrylic sealing spray
3) old magazines, old papers, gift wrap, candy wrappers, old letters or whatever you want to use for decorating your box
4) a cheap paintbrush or one of those spongy paintbrushes for applying the glue/Mod Podge

tips: 
-I coat both sides of the image before applying it to the box, with a thin layer of the Mod Podge ~ (then I use the paintbrush to coat the whole box with Mod Podge after I finish my design)
-I sometimes tear the pages/images instead of cutting with scissors for a more organic interesting texture 
-I use an old credit card/library card to gently smooth down the applied paper pieces, working from the center of the image out.
-After you're finished, let the box dry completely (it dries pretty fast tho I waited overnight), then spray apply the clear acrylic sealant to the entire box (I worked outside on a piece of newspaper with this, as it gets pretty smelly/sticky - also helps to hold the can of spray about 10-12 inches away from the box and let it fall over it like a "mist" using quick short bursts of spray)

Let me know what you think! And if you decide to do your own box, leave me a link in the comments, and as always, thank you for reading x

6 comments:

  1. So happy to see your project, it's more than amazing! Love the idea, you're so creative! I'm sure this will make a great gift, need to try that out too! x

    Never Not Inspired

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    1. thanks for checking it out Pat, I have a few more to make

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  2. My favorite part is that Voltaire is right about Louis Vutton

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  3. Oh I love it! Looks really cool. I think I will do something similar to wrap xmas presents next year :)

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  4. Hey! :) so happy to be on your blog!
    This is a great personalized gift! Your box is amazing, your work and collage are so artistic. I should try to do it ...
    x

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  5. This looks fab!! xx

    fashiontatt,blogspot.com

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