i love painting on wood. it provides a smooth surface for paint, and can take LOTS of it. and wood boxes? FUNCTIONAL art! 🙂

i came upon these boxes in my storage area, one already base coated in a beautiful turquoise, so i decided to finish them up…(forgive the photos; i mentioned previously that my digital camera stopped working, and i’ve been relying on my iPhone for photos.)this 1987 Webster’s dictionary has been with me for years (obviously – 1987!). i love to write, and during my college years and several years after that, i wrote short stories and poetry. this dictionary helped me out, so i thought it would be cool to repurpose and upcycle it into my present-time creative work…i love to fold and tear my papers, rather than always rely on scissors. it gives paper nice imperfect edges, and old paper is awesome for tearing this way!Hard Coat Mod Podge from Plaid is the BEST for decoupaging, collaging, etc. i don’t remember when i first used it, but it’s what i always use now for these kinds of projects. it doesn’t have the tacky feeling that the regular mod podge leaves behind, and you can build up lots of coats for a more durable seal. works great on wood…this box ate up lots of paint! it needed a few coats of paint, and there were drawers and crevices to deal with…(i’m using one of my FAVORITE colors: Americana Acrylics from DecoArt in Calypso Blue. LOVE!)

the colors on the flower in this photo are NOT true to life! this was taken late at night with the only light source being a table lamp… i always paint the inside of my boxes, but this wood looked so pretty that i decided to just seal it as is and let the beautiful natural wood color show.

as soon as the boxes are finished, i’ll be posting them to either my Etsy shop or our website at www.ArtedeNuestroCorazon.com – stay tuned!

’til next time…