Decoupage and My first fancy boxes

Hello dear readers! I have been away for so long! Life carries a lot of surprises which often take you away from the things you love and enjoy to do! Due to my hectic job I haven't been able to make many crafty things and was forced to abandon my blog. However, I am now luckily jobless (I know I shouldn't be saying that in these critical times) and have been busy producing new things!

I have been preparing for a Christmas Bazaar which will be taking place on 9th of December in Abu-Dhabi Mall- the main mall of the city where I live, the capital of United Arab Emirates. This will be my second time and hopefully a more successful one as well!

So here are some things I have made- 3 decoupage boxes! I will briefly explain how you can transform a simple and boring box into a fancy keeper for you accessories, jewels, letters, photographs, you name it!                          

Here is what you will need:

1. A plain box of whatever shape and size you like. It could be a wooden one, papier-mache or even a card box.

2. White or any pale colour paints. These should be thick, close to a paste. You could use fabric paints.

3. Decoupage glue. This is a white colour paste glue, which turns transparent when dries. It is sometimes known as "Fabric Mod Podge", as it used on fabrics as well.

4. Decorative tissues- the ones they sell in the shops, with beautiful designs that no one would dare spoil or use for whipping products of waste.  

5. Varnish for covering the completed box, thus protecting the tissues from getting damaged. I have used an acrylic spray-on concealer with a matt effect.

6. Thick brushes- either the ones used for oil or water painting. Get 2- one for applying paint, another for the glue.

And now let's begin creating!

Step 1. Use the white/ pale paints to paint the box and its cover. Leave to dry for sometime- 30 minutes should be more than enough.

Step 2.Cut out the necessary tissue pieces, depending on how you would like your design to be laid out.

Step 3. Separate the tissue into the 3 layers, taking only the very top one which contains the design print. The other 2 white ones can be kept aside as they are not required. 

Step 4. Place the tissue pieces on your box and cover them evenly with the glue. Make sure to smooth out the surface. 

Step 5. After leaving the box to dry for a few hours, cover it with varnish and leave to dry for a few hours more!

And here you can see a couple of completed ready-to-use boxes!

So that is how you transform boring unused boxes that have been lying around the house into pretty jewel-keepers!