Tin boxes

Sometimes I buy stuff only for the packaging. Like this box of Griotte chocolates. For some reason, both my mom and aunt kept their sewing kit in an old box of chocolates. So when I saw this one I immediately thought: This would be perfect for my spooled thread. 

Of course, it turned out I have more thread than fits the box. Guess I need to eat more chocolate. 

I didn't decorate this box, because it's pretty enough on its own, but I did decorate this other one. 

Bought it at the dollar store, it came with a set of Yu-Gi-Oh trading cards. Clearly an item I very much need in my life ;) 

I decoupaged it with a paper napkin, but it came out all wrinkly (it's been a while since I last decoupaged anything) - so to hide that I smudged white acrylic paint all over it. Not sure how much that helped, but I like it better now than when it pictured the guy fighting the undead skull daemon or whatnot. 

And then I discovered mare's blog. With great tutorials on decoupage and an information that was brand new to me: You can iron the napkins on the boxes to eliminate the wrinkles!!! 

What a great result! So much better than my technique of using my finger to smooth out the wrinkly parts, then spending half an hour peeling decoupage glue off my fingers. 

This box is a small wooden one, for a friend's birthday. I decorated it with a napkin then applied crackle medium, waited (the waiting is the hardest part) and finally rubbed brown oil paint in the cracks. 

The cracks and the aging probably don't go so well with this particular napkin, since it's a pretty modern design, but what can I tell you? I really, really wanted to try the technique.