Laura Vegas

back when i was guest designing for my mind's eye, in october, i was also asked if i wanted to contribute a project to their december "holiday hoopla" on their blog. of course i would! they sent me over the 12 days of christmas collection, and here's what i came up with for my project.

i'm really not a "project girl". meaning, i would much rather stick to layouts and cards. but one altered project that i have created a lot are these covered paper mache boxes. i picked up a few different sizes and shapes at the craft store and went about covering them up with fun patterned paper.

before i started, i picked out a few chipboard accents that would work nicely with each box. this long box was perfect for the "merry & bright" banner piece. once i picked those out, i was able to choose my papers to match.

i kind of want to roll up socks and put them in this long, narrow box. it's the first thing that came to mind. and it wouldn't be weird, since the girls usually get some warm, fuzzy socks every christmas.

before i adhered the papers, i painted all the edges of the boxes, with white acrylic paint. i knew the papers would cover the majority of the boxes and lids, but i didn't want to fully wrap them around all the edges. by simply painting the outside edges of all the pieces, it gives a very finished look.

don't ask me what i'll put in here. if i knew, that would mean that i would have actually done some of my christmas shopping already. which i really havn't.

i used mod podge to adhere the papers to the boxes and lids. one coat of mod podge to adhere the papers on, and another coat of mod podge directly over the papers to give it a nice shiny look. it also helps seal the papers on better, so they can stand up to more wear and tear, and not risk the papers starting to peel off.

i'm all about using decorative boxes and bags at christmas. or even birthdays. the less actual wrapping i have to do, the better 🙂

you can see my projects on the my mind's eye blog today. and they're also doing a giveaway on that post, where one lucky winner will receive the 12 days of christmas collection. so head over and leave a comment, for a chance to win!