Tuesday, December 16, 2008

DEMO! Matchbox Ornament

If the Portland Saturday Market can have a Festival of the Last Minute, so can I! So here goes the first Ornament Demo of this year's Festival, for all my fellow decorating procrastinators and snowbound crafters!


For the big Cake and Pie Ornament Swap, I turned matchboxes into little birdhouses . . . and here's the Demo to prove it . . .


1. Start with matchboxes - and open up the outer part. Punch a 7/8" hole in the front, and gesso those babies! My 7/8" punch was so big that I had to open them up to punch them - but you may not have to open them up with a smaller punch . . .

2. Put two layers of gesso on . . .


3. Now glue the outsides back together - I used Crafter's Pick Ultimate Glue, but Aleene's Tacky Glue would also work well. I used paper clips to hold the parts together while they were drying.


Ok, I love this paperclip shot,so you get a little extra.

4. Get some green acrylic paint, and paint the outside.

5. I gessoed the interior boxes, but you don't really need to. I do, however, recommend taking your 1/16" hole punch and punching holes in one end . . .



6. This will make it easier to poke the brads through, making a little drawer pull for the box.



7. Because I was doing multiples, I made one collage with some hand drawn birds and photocopied it. I starting by making a little template based on the inside of the matchbox. Then, I blew it up 200%, made my drawing/collage (I used shredded paper to make the nest), and then photocopied it again at 49%!

8. I used the template to trim the image to the perfect size, and folded it so it would fit.


9. I coated the inside of the box with matte medium . . .

10. And pressed the paper in. I used extra matte medium where the brad was so that the paper would adhere properly.


11. Next, it was time for the little surprise! I had also photocopied little gifts. I cut out tiny bits of foam core . . .


12. . . . And glued it down. I used Beacon's 3-in-1 just because it was handy, and it comes out of the bottle easily. You could use any craft glue.


13. Then, another dab of glue, and the little present is right there in 3D!


14. I made a little roof template and traced it out on some red posterboard I had.


Action shot!

15. Here you can see how it folds to make a little roof!

16. Where the roof tab overlaps, I slipped in a bit of ribbon to create a hanger. I used Ultimate Glue to secure it . . .


17. . . . And a paperclip to hold it while it dried.


18. I applied glue to the back of the roof piece . . .

19. I slipped it inside the exterior cover and held it in place while it set.


20. Poof! It's a little birdhouse, with a birds and nest inside! I also painted the top of the interior box red to match the roof, cause I was just being, well, you know, like that.

21. And still, it seemed like it needed a little more . . . so I added some Elmer's . . .

22. And some antique style mica glitter. You can also add a little on the roof for an extra accent.


And you're done!

Hope you're having a great holiday season.

20 comments:

Diane Gilleland said...

Holy hell! These are wonderful! And thanks to my Kandle Heeter obsession, I have a bunch of empty matchboxes just sitting there...

zakkalife said...

these are absolutely adorable and very clever. I think this is the best matchbox craft I've seen yet!

Chris said...

i could faint and die from this. This is awesome.

I am making these for next year.

DON'T TRY TO STOP ME!



(is it okay if I make them?)

Maria-Thérèse ~ www.afiori.com said...

Super cute houses!!! You could make all kinds of houses, a little village in the Christmas tree maybe.... I linked to your post from my blog at www.afiori.com !

Amy Stoner said...

totally sweet! I dig 'em! right on! :)

Bridget said...

Chris: LOL - of course you can make them!! Please do - and send me a photo of how they turn out!!

Geek+Nerd said...

Eeek! Oh my goodness - I wish that you were one of my partners - these are so cooooooool!!!

futuregirl said...

OMG! I want to make these so bad. When we were little I used to line up my brothers and sisters and we'd make paper chains as if we were factory workers ... one person made a circle, one person made small pieces of tape, another used the tape bit to complete the circle ... all orchestrated by me. I loved it when we got in the groove.

This project would be perfect for a holiday sweatshop. Great use of paperclips, too!

Linda Womack said...

Hey Bridget, These are SO cute I had to share them with my readers too. I hope you don't mind! (http://embracingencaustic.wordpress.com/)

How's your studio holding up? I've got two feet of snow at my door and two space heaters going. Yikes! Stay warm, Linda

Karen Salva said...

These are adorable!!!! ugh, why did I look...I don't have time to do the things I need to get done!!!

Love these!!

Anonymous said...

Super cute! I could never igure out how to do a window. Now I know. I also used matchboxes for my swap ornament. ; 0
http://banchomarba1.livejournal.com/139780.html

Matchbox lovers unite!!!!
Sid

Judy Wise said...

Sweeeeeet! Thank you for this. xo

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

Oh ww-these are SO cute! I'm so glad I found your blog! I'll be linking!

Cheri said...

What a wonderful idea! I will try this next year though I'm a little ham fisted for such delicacy :)

Anonymous said...

The ornaments are adorable. I love the details.

jen said...

wow - that was a lot of work! those are adorable. thank you for posting! merry christmas!

~*~Patty S said...

Absolutely BRILLIANT and wonderful! Thank you for the lovely tutorial as well.
Happy Happy New Year to you and yours!

Dayna Collins said...

Yikes Almighty! I love your matchbox ornaments - and you know me, I'm a matchbox shrine junkie!

fingerstothebone said...

As always, I'm late to the table, but those are just too cute!

Amanda said...

I am writing to request permission to reprint this adorable project on Craftown.com. We would of course give you full credit and will happily link back to your blog. Please let me know if this is acceptable. Thanks!

Amanda Formaro
Chief Editor - Craftown.com
http://craftown.com

ShareThis