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How to Celebrate Earth Day ...Recycling Cereal Boxes!

How to Celebrate Earth Day ...Recycling Cereal Boxes!

Today is EARTH Day!  It is a time to celebrate our awareness and appreciation of our Earth's environment.  So I thought I would whip up a recycled project for everyone today.  Anyone who knows me well, knows that I LOVE Cheerios and munch on them every morning; so I saved two boxes and planned out a project creating a double magazine holder.  Come along and let's see how I did it ....

Supplies:

• Cheerios boxes of equal size (2)   
• FolkArt Multi-Surface Satin Paint – Wicker White, Deep Ocean Blue, Pink Melon, Fresh Cut Grass, and Parchment
• Mod Podge Matte
• Mod Podge Brushes, Squeegee
• FolkArt Stencil – Swirl Background
• 3/8” Stencil Brush
• Graphic45 Botanical Tea Collection paper stack and chipboard embellishments

Miscellaneous Supplies:  Brush Basin or container for water, Scissors, Craft Knife, Waxed Paper, Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks, Ric Rac, Marker or Pencil, Stencil Tape, and Dimensional Pop Dots

 The first thing I determined was the slope of my magazinie holder side.  Using a pencil or marker, lightly sketch the desired pattern.  Then cut one side using either scissors or a craft knife.  Save that side as it will then become the pattern for the three remaining sides.   

I chose my pattern papers, but before Mod Podging them to the cereal box, I wanted to make sure the printed color would not show through, so I painted a coat of FolkArt Mult-Surface Satin Wicker White onto the box.  It sure has nice hide (or coverage) doesn't it?  I then painted the interior of one box Pink Melon and the second box Deep Ocean Blue.

I chose to work with a paper stack from Graphic45;  I LOVE their style and the vintage feel of so many of their paper designs.  This paper stack is called Botanical Tea.  I choose several of the papers as they all coordinate with each other. 

Take a few minutes to plan out your design and cut the papers creating a patchwork of paper designs.  TIP:  Go ahead and layer the papers too, creating dimention is fun when layering one pattern over another.  I also only designed paper sections for the two narrow sides and one large flat side of each box.  Because they are going to be joined together, I did not see the need to decoupage those sides. 

Once your patterns are cut, begin applying them to the cereal box using Mod Podge.  I used the Matte formula and brushed a coat on both the backside of the paper and the box itself.  Position the paper section where desired and press in place using your fingers.  TIP:   Lay a sheet of waxed paper over the paper section and use the Mod Podge Squeegee to firmly attach the paper to the cereal box while removing air pockets and excess Mod Podge.  Continue working a paper section at a time excluding the top seven inches of the box. 

Look at how fun the magazine holders are becoming!  The paper sections coordinate so well with each other and you will notice that the two boxes use slightly different papers, but go well together.  After all the paper sections were Mod Podged onto the Cheerios boxes, I began working on the top seven inches of the box.  Gather a large flat brush and Fresh Cut Grass..... we're going to paint!

 Paint the top "un-Mod Podged" section Fresh Cut Grass; allow to dry and reapply for opaque coverage.

I chose to stencil a small swirl pattern using FolkArt Swirl Background stencil.  Using a 3/8" stencil brush I stenciled Parchment over the Fresh Cut Grass.  TIP:  You can also use a dauber to stencil if you don't have a stencil brush handy.

When the stenciling was dry, I added a couple horizontal paper border designs between the decoupaged bottom and stenciled top.  It was fun layering the borders too!  And when I was happy with the overall design, I brushed on a smooth even coat of Mod Podge over the entire surface and waited for it to dry.

Next step was easy ... peasy!  Using a hot glue gun, I attached the two boxes to each other.  Working one side at a time, I added a strip of hot glue along the edge and married the two boxes to each other.  Knowing how much I enjoy a "finished" look, the unpainted cut edges just would not do... so I touched them up with Deep Ocean Blue and Pink Melon.

To jazz up my magazine holder, I added a fun touch ... green ric rac was glued to the top edges so that it slightly overlapped the edge.  Isn't that so cute?  I am LOV'n it!

And to proove to you that this cute little double magazine holder was originally a cereal box ... you can see the bottom Cheerios label peeking through as I am painting Fresh Cut Grass for a finished look.

As I turned my project around, admiring and critiquing it ... I decided that the tall backside required a little touch of extra goodness.  So I cut out a few rose designs from the papers and Mod Podged them randomly over the tall sides.

 And lastly, I decided to add a chipboard embellishment to the front of the box.  I added a small section of pink ribbon to tie a bow and dimensional pop dots to attach it in the center.  Voila ... a gorgeous magazine holder just in time for Earth Day!

 Now tell me, what do you think of my painted, decoupaged and stenciled magazine holeder?  Would you have guessed that it was recycled cereal boxes?

I hope you give this project a whirl.  You too, can have fun celebrating your appreciation of our Earth by crafting with recyclables like I did!  Send me a photo, I would love to see what you created!

 

Posted: 4/22/2014 9:00:00 AM by LEAP | with 0 comments
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