Quest Box

This trinket box wants to give you a quest!

Or maybe it holds a reward inside. OR maybe it wants to reward you and then give you another quest! You won't know until you open it up!

I hand-painted this little box using two shades of brown acrylic paint (to simulate a wood stain while giving me better control over shading), and then added details using a high-quality gold paint and black to create shadows. The gold corners gives it that campaign-style touch like tiny metal brackets. I thought about making the question mark yellow, but I liked the gold so much I decided to stick with it instead of adding another color.

Gears Coffin Trinket Box

This box mixes Steampunk with Art Nouveau.

My inspiration began with the woodwork in this Art Nouveau hutch.

I spray-painted the box flat black (after covering the hardware with blue painter's tape), penciled on the details, then added metallic purple paint and finished it off with highlights in silver.

This coffin box is the perfect size to fit a little Justice League Superman action figure.

Coffin in the Grass

I wanted to try out a wood stain so I stained a couple of coffin-shaped trinket boxes. I really liked how rich and aged it made the wood look.

Before I stained it, the coffin looked like this, just plain light-colored wood.

Start with a trinket box and sand it down before you do anything else.

The next step for this coffin was distressing the wood. I took a hammer, chain, and screwdrivers and gave it a good beating. It's good to do this before staining the wood, then you can get the stain down in those distress marks to darken them up. If you distress it after you stain the wood, you could end up with light wood showing through, and that ruins the effect of the stain.

I rubbed wood stain into the box both inside and out. Watch your fingers when staining! The oil from your hands can mess with the finish. If you have some latex gloves, wear them.

The coffin box was still quite plain after all the distressing and staining. I loved the look but it needed an artist's touch. So I used a fine-tip brush to hand-paint grass all around the base of the coffin.

Tips for painting grass: 

• Start with a dark green (tint your medium green with a tiny bit of black), then gradually layer on lighter colors
• Paint grass in clumps!Think crab grass. Natural grass can be varying in height and density of ground coverage.
• Vary the lengths of the grass, and let the blades bend in different directions and cross each other.
• The top of the grass should taper to a point. Practice your paint strokes, lightly using the tip of a fine-tipped brush.

Copper Patina Paint Technique

Copper looks really gorgeous when it ages, it turns a gorgeous aqua/turquoise color, which is a beautiful contrast against the orange of the metal. Why not duplicate that pattern with paint?

Step 1: Brush on a layer of copper-colored paint. Let it dry.
Step 2: Using a wide flat-headed brush, dip the tip of the bristles in turquoise or aqua-colored paint. Apply over the copper in patches by touching just the tips of the bristles to the surface, dotting instead of brushing. This gives a more natural weathered look. Do this all over, wherever you want the patina look to appear.

I love painting trinket boxes. They are an excellent canvas for trying out new paint techniques. Plus they are great for storing thumbtacks and paperclips. Or really tiny treasures that you want to bury in your back yard.

TARDIS Trinket Box

So, I had extra plain wooden boxes on hand and I was thinking, how can I make a wooden box totally geeky?

Duh. (Forehead smack moment.) The TARDIS.

If you don't know what a TARDIS is, go watch an episode of Doctor Who. It's probably available on On Demand.

So anyway, after smothering the box with all-purpose sealer, I started painting it blue. Then I had to figure out where to put the windows. I decided not to be completely literal with the TARDIS design but to work with the shape of the box.
To make the windows I lightly brushed on white paint in a couple of coats - I didn't want to go completely opaque because the windows needed some depth. Then I drew the black lines with a black Sharpie marker.

Then I thought, wouldn't it be fun if there was chalkboard paint on the top so I could write messages? So I taped off a grid and spray-painted on the chalkboard paint.

On the inside (which is not bigger, alas), I used hot glue to glue down a rectangle of white felt. This gives a nice soft padded bottom to the inside of the box, which is a nice touch for trinket boxes, especially if you plan to fill them with jewelry like a pendant, brooch, or cocktail ring.

 

Painted Trinket Boxes

This is a super-easy craft for any skill level! It's also an excellent introduction to wood painting.

Design ideas are endless... above I started with a plain wooden box, painted it brown, then gave it some Steampunk flavor with metallic copper and gold paints and a little brushed-on blue.

You find everything you need at your local craft store (both Michael's and JoAnn's carries these):

• small wood box ($1)
• 1 tube of All-Purpose Sealer (for preparing wood surfaces). Brand I used: Delta Ceramcoat
• Acryllic paints in desired colors (comes in tubes, about 89 cents and up)
• Paint brushes (for acryllic paint, use nylon bristles, not natural hair) - 1 detail brush, one 1/2-centimeter wide flat brush, squared or angled
• Sand paper
• Mod Podge (for finishing coat, if desired)
• disposable cup with water
• paper towel (for wiping brushes)
• a palette (can use a clean piece of scrap plastic or cover a small dish with plastic wrap)

Directions:

1. Sand down any splinters and rough spots.
2. Apply one coat of sealer to the outside sides and top of the box, let dry
3. Paint! Let dry between coats.
4. Finish with Mod Podge, if desired. Only apply Mod Podge to the top and sides, do not cover the inside or bottom because the surface can stick.

Try these fun variations:

• Hot-glue a rectangle of felt to the inside bottom.
• Hot-glue a tiny mirror onto the inside of the lid.
• Use chalkboard paint on the top so you can write messages on it!
• Mod Podge a collage of pictures or scrapbook paper on the box.
• Paint a box blank, then add rub-on metallic paint to make it look like metal
• Add glitter! (apply with white glue)