How to Create an Embossed Box Tutorial and Class Recap

I recently had the honor of hosting six lovely women in my home studio for a Meetup class I call "Blessings Box."  It involves repurposing a cigar box into a box to hold treasured items representing blessings.   After the class pix - there's a tutorial for how you can make a box of your own!

I am lucky enough to have a nearby cigar store that gives me empty boxes whenever they accumulate.  I have to leave them outside for a week to let aerate, but then they're just perfect!

We had so much fun play with loads of stencils from Stencil Girl.  We created embossed embellishments, tissue paper accents, and collage papers, which we used to create mosaic designs on the boxes and more. 

Look at this pile of lovingly used stencils!

Tery Favo had brought a tutorial with her for embossing a box into a very gothic, steampunk creation.  Isn't it gorgeous?

I decided to try my own take on this technique.  First, I painted my box with black gesso.  Next, I took my Hearts, Flowers and More stencil and scraped Modeling paste through it with a palette knife.  I let it dry overnight, and then painted over all of the embossed areas with black gesso.  

I pulled out some of my earthiest fluid acrylic colors.  Using my fingers, I rubbed Van Dyke Brown, Burnt Umber Light, and then Burnt Umber around the raised areas of my box.  When that was dry, I placed the stencil back over the embossed areas, and stenciled them with Iridescent Bronze and Iridescent Gold.  I painted repurposed wooden bingo balls with the iridescent gold and bronze paint, and glued them as feet and a handle.

Another holiday gift done!

This is one of my favorite pics from class - it's a Michelle Ward's Marrakech Mix stencil and my Medieval Leaf Stencil having a playdate!

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