Decoupaged Treat Box

October went into creative gridlock. In September I had several projects in progress, I added another work-in-progress to the pile, and I became overwhelmed and lost all creative motivation. When I had time to work on projects I instead squandered it cleaning my kitchen or, worse, playing games online.

A friend delivered a lovely, Halloween treat in a cute box. The treat was rapidly inhaled (yum). The box was cute. The trouble is I have a self-imposed rule, "All Autumn and Halloween decorations must fit in one file box." I wasn't yet willing to part with any of my current decorations to make room for the box.

My Seattle upbringing insisted that I somehow reuse the box.

So, the most obvious solution is update it to the upcoming season and regift it :)

1. Take one cute, but out of season box. If applicable, remove the ribbon by unknotting one side. Place on a protected surface. I just used a paper bag cut open and placed over the carpet. (My kitchen table is currently buried under those gridlocked projects.)
2. Use decoupage glue (e.g. Mod Podge) to adhere scraps of wrapping paper to the box. I used 3x3-inch squares torn into three pieces, 1x1-inch pieces, and selectively cut large pieces. First I used the torn pieces at random to coat the entire box. The torn look permitted me to mold paper around the curves without carefully tracing and crafting larger panel pieces. I then used my small squares to patch over anything I considered a mistake. Finally, I glue down a few snowmen which I had carefully cut out of the wrapping paper. Yup, I can't just do "glue down random bits of torn paper," there has to be a precise method to my brand of madness.
3. Wait for the box to dry. Stab a toothpick through the ribbon holes. Thread the ribbon and tie a knot in the end.

All in all I'm pretty pleased with my little box. It was a fast project to restore my sense of project accomplishment. My intent was to regift the box in the upcoming season; however, in the past 24 hours it's become a good home for my camera. And when you have a baby you know you need a camera immediately at hand at all times.

How do you get yourself out of creative gridlock?