Sea of Wonders Treasure Chest

Here's a little beachy themed Sea of Wonders treasure chest; kit by Alpha Stamps and scrapbook paper by Graphic 45. This was really fun to put together, and I love the patterns and bright colors of the paper.

I used the treasure chest kit as is, but I did leave off the band that would usually go around the sides at the bottom (similar to the top band, with the word "voyage" on it). I liked the orange polka dot paper on the base and the sea life on the sides too much to cover them up. 

The chest stands on small brass feet, and has a sturdy latch on the front. The sides have fluted ring pulls on them (how else are you going to pick up a treasure chest?), and the lid is attached by hinges. A large starfish charm accents the lid.

When you open the lid: treasure! This chest is the perfect size to hold three matchboxes side by side. In fact, they fit so perfectly that instead of covering the outsides of the matchbox with paper, I used the paper itself as the outside cover, which allows them to all fit without being too tight.

I constructed a false bottom to hold up the matchboxes. It can be easily removed using a little loop of attached ribbon.

Underneath the false floor, there is room to hide any sort of treasure, like these beachy goodies. Here, you can see the little shelf I constructed to support the false bottom. It's made with a strip of cardboard covered with paper to match the sides. I couldn't help but fancy it up a bit with an Under the Sea Chipboard Border, painted turquoise.  

Here are the matchboxes. The drawers of each box have a patina conch shell charm on the fronts. Pull on that to view the contents of the drawers.

The matchboxes each contain a little collection of charms and tiny shells. None of these interior items are attached, so it's easy to add items as they're collected. Sequin shells give each box a hint of sparkle.

This was a bright, fun, summer project, and it's got me eager to get to the beach to add to my shell collection! Want to make your own summer treasure box? Click here for a full list of supplies!

Little Houses, All In a Row

I love these new Tiny Little Shadowbox Houses from Alpha Stamps. There are four different sizes of them, and they come in pieces, which makes them easy to decorate and put together. I like to cover the insides with paper before constructing them; it's so much easier than trying to get my big ole hands in there once the tiny house is built.

These houses would make excellent little shrines, but for this art, I did most of the decor on the outside of the box. I used some muted toned papers for the roofs and sides, then added paint, my favorite images from some Alpha Stamps collage sheets, some rub-on transfers, and a Stabilo pencil to add shading and depth.

I kept the open part in the back simple, because you never know what might find its way into one of these little houses. Around Easter time, it may be a family of rabbits.

At other times, it could be any sort of thing, like a Frozen Charlotte or a miniature chalkware dog.

So although I'll probably mostly display the kids' sides, it's nice to know I can arrange and rearrange the insides whenever I want to switch things up.

For a complete list of supplies, click here!