Cosmos Treasure Box – Mixed Media Box Using Eileen Hull Treasure Box Die

As I mentioned yesterday in this post, I had made the card to co-ordinate with this little box.  I love this one, it’s a great little 3D box die from Sizzix called Treasure Box and it was designed by Eileen Hull.  It can have so many different looks and purposes depending on how you want to decorate it and what you want to use it for, or what you want to put inside it.

The Finished Box

 

This is my second box this month, both of them created as birthday gifts, and both very different looking.  another easel style card, using Stamperia papers (Cosmos) and featuring a mixed media background and some diecut letters using the Tim Holtz Sizzix Letterboard Bigz Alphabet Die, and some stencilled stars using a Crafter’s Workshop stencil and Finnabair Icing Paste.

 

Construction

First, I used some mat board to die cut all the pieces, then cut the same pieces out of Cosmos paper.  It is also possible to glue the paper onto the mat board first, then diecut the pieces that way but I wanted to save paper and also choose specific parts of the design for the lid etc. It was important to me this time, that the patterns matched up.  Assembly is very easy, some people use adhesive tape but I find it better to use wet glue, in this case Nuvo Deluxe adhesive.  Once the box was assembled, I glued the paper pieces on to it and left it to dry also.

Decoration

I painted this paper with the same liquid acrylics as the matching card, and then stamped the butterflies and small sentiments on it with black soot archival ink.  Then added some random gold and white splatters on it. Then using a Crafter’s Workshop stencil, i used some Finnabair Icing Paste in gold, to stencil on some randomly placed stars.  Because the lid features the large moon from the paper, I wanted to add one of the Finnabair moulds to make a man in the moon element to attach onto the top, in position on top of the moon on the paper.  Once everything was dry, I went around all the edges of the box and lid, with Finnabair’s icing paste in gold, applying it with a palette knife and rubbing it in with my fingers.  Then I added some random stars with the same icing paste and left it to dry.

 

Finishing Touches

I painted the inside of the box with Finnabair Stormy Ocean Metallique paint, which is a brilliant colour and matches the paper really well.  At this point the box was technically finished and ready to go but I still felt like it needed something else.  I decided to add another Prima mould, this time this awesome keyhole, to the front of the box.  I painted it with Unicorn Hair and attached it to the front of the box using hot glue.

Final Thoughts

I LOVE how this box turned out and I secretly/not so secretly want to keep it lol but I can always make another similar one for myself, but for now this one has to be posted to the intended recipient as it is already late.  So did I just send someone an empty box?  No, I made some cute little journals to go inside, using another of Eileen Hull’s dies – The Passport book die.  I made them with different covers, but for one of them, I used the matching paper.

Three of them with inserts, easily fit inside this box, so it can be used as a storage box for the journals or she can take the journals out and use the box for something else.  I’m thinking it would make a lovely jewellery box to keep your treasure in!

Oh and since I’ve made two of these boxes this month, here’s a side by side comparison of how different they can look!

 

PROJECT RECIPE:
Clear Gesso
TCW Stencil
Liquid Acrylics – blue
Distress Archival Ink – Black Soot
Finnabair Stamps
White paint splatters
Metallique Sparks – Unicorn Hair, Stormy Ocean
Mat Board
Stamperia Cosmos Collection
Finnabair Icing Paste
Eileen Hull Treasure Box die
Prima Moulds
Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive