Christmas In July Workshop Wednesday Blog Hop: Paris In A Box

Welcome to a fun blog hop called Workshop Wednesday and a special welcome to any new visitors who came over from visiting Kara at Mine For The Making!

Michele over at The Scrap Shoppe had the genius idea to get several of us together to get a jump start on holiday ideas. I know what you're thinking:  it's July. There's plenty of time. That's what I tell myself every year and then I get a big old Emeril "BAM" wake up call. 

I always joke with a friend about running away to Paris. I can’t actually give that to her, so I came up with the next best thing. Paris in a box. Or at least the essence ( to continue my Emeril references)  of Paris in a box.

For this project you will need:

• Plain wooden box you can get at Michaels, JoAnns, etc. (which if you post a project using, you remember to take a picture of before you start!)
• Scrapbook paper of choice; I used K and Company black and ivory coordinated papers
• Mod Podge
• Acrylic craft paint
• Embellishments

Start by painting the edges of your box ( the parts that won’t be covered w/paper). Cut paper to fit the top and bottom and inside lids of your box.

Apply Mod Podge to surface, lay your paper down, smooth, let dry. Once dry, you can lightly sand off any excess paper on the edges and then seal with another coat of Mod Podge. If you’ve never podged, visit the Queen, Amy Anderson for getting started tips here.

I then went around my box with this fun “Crafting Tape” from Recollections at Michaels. LOVE this stuff which is their version of  washi tape!

Time to embellish! I cut an Eiffel Tower image from black vinyl using my appropriately named Silhouette Cameo "CoCo". As in Chanel ( ok and chocolate) .  Then went stash shopping for embellishments…self adhesive rhinestones, die cuts, buttons, and one of a couple of little frames I picked up along the way:

I popped out the plastic “glass” and popped off the back and then painted the frame with cream acrylic craft paint and dabbed on a little silver Rub n Buff.  Mod podged an oval diecut onto the lid and glued my frame and butons on :

Added black rhinestones here and there and Voila! I’m filling the box with some handmade tags tied with black and white baker’s twine for mon amie. 

I’m terrible at doing cost estimates because I have a lot of stuff on hand and always have a Michaels or JoAnn’s coupon around. If you had to buy the main materials, your total cost would still be around $10. a.) some of this stuff is always on sale  b.) there’s always a coupon and c.) much less than a plane ticket!

Hope you enjoyed this and it’s given you an idea for a plan ahead gift for a friend. Think of the fun you could have with places you and a friend have wanted to run away to. Hawaii? Italy? London? All of the above? Yes please!

Remember, this is a blog hop where you can find some more head start holiday inspiration so next stop is to visit Michele at The Scrap Shoppe! We'll be hopping every Wednesday in July.

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