Upcycled Change Keeper for Dad - Pt I

Well, it's getting close to Father's Day ~ time is running out so today I have a great gift idea to create for the man in your life...be it your dh, dad or grandpa I'm sure they will all love this nifty

Upcycled Change Keeper!

Actually, someone pointed out that this gift idea would be great for anyone any time of the year.

What is "Upcycled"?

It's the fashionable trendy term for recycled ;) LOL!!
Guess everyone else is just figuring out what we crafters knew all along...one man's trash is another man's piece of art!

This Change Keeper is "upcycling" or recycling an old cigar box into a useful piece of decor.

Upcycled Change Keeper

Part I

Supplies:

Cigar Box

Make it Suede (or brown acrylic paint)

Acrylic Paints

Sea Sponge

Streuter GlueFoil (optional)

Chipboard
Glue

Embellishments

Stamps

Archival Ink

Instructions:

1. Prepare the box by cleaning both inside and out. Remove any loose paper or bits. Usually on the inside of cigar boxes there is a protective sheet of paper sometimes glued, sometimes not. This must be removed before you begin.

2. Mask off the top of the cigar box ~ the Make it Suede creates a texture once dry which sometimes makes adhering items on top tricky.

3. Paint all 4 sides of the box with Make it Suede* by Krylon or paint the sides with desired color of acrylic paint.

*NOTE - Krylon's Make it Suede is a totally awesome paint ~ it really does give your project the look AND feel of suede! I don't know how they do it but it creates a beautiful finished texture!

4. Now the suede finish is beautiful but I like to give it a bit of depth by sponging on highlights and low lights with acrylic paint. I am using ~ Adirondack Acrylic Dabbers in Mushroom, Hazelnut & Espresso.

To apply this paint I like to dab some paint onto my Non-Stick Craft Mat, add a spritz of water and pick it up with my sea sponge.

Using a light hand, dab the paint around all 4 edges of the box.

5. Repeat with the remaining two colors. When I applied the Espresso paint I concentrated on the edges adding just a bit in the center. I also removed the mask from the lid and dabbed around the edges. (the pencil is there to keep the lid from sticking to the box while the paint dries.)

6. Next I painted the inside of the box, the inside of the lid and the bottom of the box with black paint. (You can of course substitute color(s) of your choice.) I also dabbed the brush around each edge ~ sides, lid, etc. This just gives it a bit of a distressed feel.

Box Top Decoration:

To decorate the top of the box I decided to use dry embossed GlueFoil. You of course could use scrapbook paper, stamp an image, decoupage papers onto the lid, etc.

Here's what I did....

I simply placed the GlueFoil glue side up on a foam piece and embossed my desired design backwards...remember we're going to flip it so any text must be drawn in reverse! You can draw it free hand or print out an image/text on the computer, place it on the glue side and trace the design onto the GlueFoil.

After I was finished embossing the design I placed it on the box lid and heated it with my heat tool to melt the glue and pressed it to the lid while the glue cooled.

Here is what the box looks like so far....

Tomorrow I'll finish off the outside

and

give you a few ideas on how to decorate inside the box!

Be sure to stop back in and check it out!!