How to Make a Treasure Box

Make your own treasure chest with decoupage and other decorations.

Personalized treasure boxes are a charming way to preserve small objects with sentimental value. In addition, handmade treasure boxes are wonderful gifts that children or adults can make themselves. The possible themes are endless. A combination of paint, decoupage and small trinkets glued to the top of the box creates a pleasing addition to a dresser or shelf. These boxes can be used to keep jewelry, coins and other treasures. Making a treasure box is a good craft project for children.

Things You'll Need

• Wooden or cardboard craft box
• Acrylic paints
• Paintbrushes
• Paper cutouts
• Shells, beads or other small decorations
• Scissors
• Decoupage medium
• Felt
• Glue
• Spray varnish

Instructions

1. Paint a small wooden or cardboard box with acrylic paints. Paint the first inch or so inside the lid and bottom as well. If necessary, apply two coats and allow it to dry completely.

2. Brush some decoupage medium onto a small area of the box. Put a paper cutout on the medium and press from the middle outward to eliminate air bubbles. Keep working areas of the box in the same way until you have attached all the cutouts desired on the top and sides. Brush medium over cutouts already attached to overlap other cutouts on top.

3. Brush a coat of decoupage medium over the entire box and let dry. Repeat twice more to seal.

4. Glue on other decorations such as small shells, beads and silk flowers. The trinkets can have special meaning such as a shell personally collected at the beach or a paper flower you made yourself. Let dry thoroughly.

5. Spray the entire box, inside and out, with a clear varnish. Allow to dry.

6. Glue a felt lining inside the box and lid. Let the glue dry. Your treasure box is finished.

Tips & Warnings

• You can use white glue thinned with water instead of decoupage medium.

• You can use any paper for decoupage, but the thinner the better. Craft stores sell paper especially for decoupage, but you can also use napkins or wrapping paper designs.

• Distress a wooden box before painting it by beating it with a chain or gouging it with a craft knife to make it look older.

• Make figures with air-drying sculpting clay to glue onto the box in Step 4. Make sure the bottoms are flat so they are easy to glue onto the box.

• Use spray varnish in a well-ventilated area.

References

• Pink Raygun: How to Make a Desktop Pirate Chest
• Crafts for All Seasons: Decoupage Box
• Crayola: Ocean Keepsake Box