How to craft a shell covered mosaic box

       Although this craft is simple in its application, the design work used in such a project may be very complex. The key here is to work slow if you should choose to use a cardboard box to decorate instead of a wooden one. Otherwise, the walls of the box could warp while your work is drying. 

I gave a gift of pencils and paint brushes to a family member using the box to store
the craft items inside.

Supply List: 

• wood glue 
• a bag of tiny stones shells 
• a sturdy box with a lid 

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Lay out your mosaic supplies and determine the pattern that you would like to use in the creation of your decorative gift box. I chose to arrange these tiny shells in a simple floral design. 
2. I used wood glue to adhere the shells first to the surface of my box lid. 
3. Then I let this dry overnight. 
4. Then I carefully applied the wood glue to small areas of the lid and covered these with my tiny stones.
5. These areas were approximately two inches in diameter. Let each area dry completely before proceeding to the next application of stones. Again, this will help prevent the surface of your lid from warping.

A few close shots of the surface of my gift box: left, is a side view, right,
a top view of the floral shell pattern.

More Ways To Use Boxes In Crafts:

• Fold and decorate a triangular gift box with two different designs . . . 
• Assemble a Disney Castle Jewelry Box from paper mache box and stickers
• Valentine Mailbox Links and Ideas for School Aged Children

Craft a Bird In a Nest Box

The Nesting Bird's Box by kathy grimm as seen from above.

       Although the assembly of this little box may be a bit challenging in at first, most of you will get the gist of it after a few seconds of trial and error. 

       Just imagine how different my box might look if I were to use paper or paint to decorate it? I loved the soft, tactile surface of this box. And the neutral brown shades gave it a bit of a modern twist in the finish, I think. It makes for an unusual Easter surprise!

Supply List:

• small empty, clean carton with a screw top spout
• paper or plastic bowl
• cardstock or cardboard
• masking tape
• white school glue
• plastic or styrofoam eggs
• yarn for nest, eggs and bird
• feathers
• scissors
• tissue paper 
• Sculpey clay (just a small amount)
• hot glue

Step-by-Step Directions:

1. Clean with warm warm water and soap a screw top spouted cream carton. Then cut the top off including a generous piece of cardboard surrounding it. (see photo below)
2. Cover the bowl's surface with masking tape on all sides.
3. Take the paper or plastic bowl and turn it upside down on a piece of cardboard and draw around the edge to estimate the circumference of it's opening. Cut around this circle leaving about a half inch in excess from the drawn circle. 
4. Remove the plastic lid from the carton piece and trace around it on top of the cardstock where ever you plan to have the box open. If your making a nest similar to mine, put it roughly in the middle.
5. Punch a whole in the center of this smaller outline with the tip of your scissors and cut the small whole out. Make sure that the lid top fits neatly through the hole.
6. Cover the top with masking tape. Cut out the hole shape if you cover this with the tape.
7. Now push the lid opening and it's attached backing through one side of the container's lid. (see photograph below)
8. Tape this secure and flip it over to screw on the plastic lid top.
9. Notch around the half inch cut so that the edge may be turned under  or up slightly and then squeeze glue around this edge and nestle it on to the top of the bowl. Mask the top edge firmly to the bowl top. Let this form dry.
10. Use glue and making tape to position and secure the plastic egg shells around the inside of the nest.
11. Now unscrew the lid from the top of the box. Crush the tissue into the shape of a small baby bird and glue this to the lid's top. Be careful not to get tape, glue or paper on the inside of the lid so that it will continue to screw on and off of it's lip properly. 
12. Mask this tiny bird with the tape.
13. Sculpt a bit of clay into a open beak for the bird. Fit it onto the small bird's head to make sure that it looks the way you want before baking it into it's permanent shape.
14. After baking this according to directions, let cool and then hot glue it to your baby bird.
15. Now use the white school glue to cover your nest with yarns of your own choosing. This will need to be done in stages, the bottom first and so on...  Let the glued surfaces dry between stages over several days. (see detailed photos below)
16. Include a secret letter and perhaps a bit of money inside your bird's nest box to give as a special gift for Easter or a child's birthday.

Left, "Clean with warm warm water and soap a screw top spouted cream carton.
 Then cut the top off including a generous piece of cardboard surrounding it." Right,
you can see that I have cut a whole measuring the same size of the lid into the
 top of the cardboard "nest."

Left and Center, "Now push the lid opening and it's attached backing through one side
 of the container's lid. Right, the opening of my Nest Box is neat, clean, and ready for decorating.

Left, "Now unscrew the lid from the top of the box. Crush the tissue into the shape of a small baby

 bird and glue this to the lid's top. Be careful not to get tape, glue or paper on the inside of the 

lid so that it will continue to screw on and off of it's lip properly." Right, "Use glue and making 

tape to position and secure the plastic egg shells around the inside of the nest."

       Above is the top of the screw top lid covered with furry brown yarn, a Sculpey beak and real feathers, made to look like a baby bird. I went for a simpler look and opted to leave the beak

 unpainted this time. In the photographs below you can see the yarn covered box from 

different points of view as well as a close up shot of the box with the led unscrewed.

Unscrew the bird to reveal the empty box within.

See the bird and nest full of eggs from different angles.

More Bird Crafts:

• Crayon Resist Parrots by Children
• How to draw a peacock, an ostrich and a blue jay, step-by-step
• Audubon's Legacy Lesson
• Free Jigsaw Transfer of A Parrot

A Decorative Bird Box

      I love these little bird boxes by Martha Stewart. I plan to stuff mine with a few Easter treats this year, but these little tweets would be just as sweet to decorate for any festive occasion. The bird boxes come three to a package so I will show you three different ways to decorate them. This first example is perhaps the easiest. 

      First, I painted a thin layer of acrylic varnish all over the surface of my bird box and let it dry over night. Then I used a fine line, permanent, black ink marker to draw swirls and curls emphasizing the raised portions of the bird's wings etc... Afterwards, I coated the box again with a second layer of acrylic varnish.