Practicing Gratitude! + Gratitude Keepsake Box Tutorial

Greetings! Hello!

The idea of practicing Gratitude has really been swirling around in my brain lately! I believe it is from the combination of the month of November, and remembering to be thankful, as well as the inspiration brewing from the Gratitude Junk Journal Workshop which began on November 1st.

When I started thinking about practicing gratitude, I immediately asked myself, “How?”
So I started brainstorming the how’s and came up with a few ideas.

The ideas sparked a journal page:

I used minimal supplies and a color scheme that I don’t normally go after … but I’m happy with the outcome. I think the page really helps ignite ideas for practicing Gratitude.

From there, I also decided that I should start taking a quick moment each day to consider the things in which I’m grateful for — even on day’s when it feels like there isn’t much.

That prompted me to alter a “junk box” into a Gratitude Keepsake box!

Supplies Used:

Metallic Lustre 1oz – Copper Kettle

Andy Skinner Stencils 8×8 – Made to Measure

Americana Stencils 6×8 – Tags & Labels

Americana Multi-Surface Satin Acrylics 2oz – Black Tie

Americana Decou-Page Papers – Victorian Romance

Matte Medium

Washi Tape

Embellishments of your choice.

First, I started by painting a plain cardboard box with some of the Americana Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic in “Black Tie”.

I covered the entire box!
Once the paint was dry, I reinforced some of the corners a bit with washi tape (added some glue to the washi to make it a bit stronger).

I also cut a little “mail slot” in the top.

Then, I used some matte medium to adhere a piece of Decou-Page paper. This one looks like a music score. The reason I chose to use the Decou-Page paper here instead of an actual music score? The paper is thin, almost like a tissue paper, so it adheres to the box really easily. The music score would have a thicker page that would just be a little bit heavier to work with.

Just brush on the matte medium on the box, and then again over the top of the paper.

Next up, I used DecoArt’s Metallic Lustre to stencil and paint. The color on this one is called “Copper Kettle”. The metallic lustre is a waxy type of medium. I just used my fingers to apply it to the stencil and it worked *flawlessly*. I really think this stuff was made for stencils!

It also doesn’t take very long to dry, so that’s pretty nice too.

(The stencil used in the photo below is Andy Skinner’s “Made To Measure”)

I added some drips of the black tie paint, some glitter, and some embellishments.

I tied a piece of cloth around the box for a purpose — I was going to use it to store blank tags to write on.

I made the tags by taking some cardstock and stenciling it with the Metallic Lustre and the Americana stencil called “Tags & Labels”.

Again, I just used my finger to apply the metallic lustre to the stencil and it worked with no problems.

And that’s it! Super, super easy. I’m going to take some time each day to fill out a tag and slip it in. At the end of the year, I may compile all the tags into a mini art journal.

The possibilities are endless!

(By the way, if you make a Gratitude Keepsake box I would love to see it! Be sure to leave a photo in the comments below!)

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Until next time.

Cheers,

Pan

PanArt

Artwork by Cristin Stevenson