Gift it or Grid it - Gift Pillow Boxes by Claudia

Hi, servus! Claudia here again with some new inspiration right on time for the gift-giving season!

This month the design team was challenged to create something to go by the theme "Gift it or Grid it" and I not only liked that theme very much but also decided to make a project that fits both: it can be used to give a gift in and the patterns I used and created are all somehow grid-like (actually I found there is an incredibly wide variety of awesome grid-patterned stencils to find in the StencilGirl shop - and I already do have a lot but there are still more that I urgently NEED ;) !

Creating the layers with a lot of stencils and then using randomly torn strips on the boxes was incredibly great fun and the result is absolutely striking! Now I just need some small presents for some loved ones to put into the boxes ;) 

The plain pillow boxes were die cut from white, black and kraft colored cardstock but you can as well use bought pillow boxes and add the stenciled strips to these to make them your own design. I used black, white, brown, yellow, beige and orange DecoArt Americana acrylic paints on each a sheet of kraft paper, black paper and white deli paper, so the finished patterned strips could be used on all three sorts of pillow boxes and still perfectly match their colors and/or materials. 

Stencils used:

- two stencils from the Mash-Up Stencil Club Set (designed by Mary Beth Shaw and Seth Apter)

- ATC MixUp 1 Stencil (by Mary Beth Shaw)

- ATC MixUp - Apter Stencil (by Seth Apter)

- Mary Beth Shaw's Private Collection 16.4 Stencil Club Set from October 2016

- Open Buildings Stencil (by Carolyn Dube)

- Map Stencil (by Mary C. Nasser)
- Circuits Mini Stencil (by Mary Beth Shaw)
- Soulful Scribbles Dots Dash Stencil (by Tracy Bautista)


Instead of taking steps images I have done a video that shows how I made my pillow gift boxes from start to finish.

Of course, you could use the mixed media strips with a lot of other kinds of projects...small square boxes, on the covers of note books and journals, small paper bags,...and whatever else you can think of ;)

The sight of the torn patterned strips is already such a treat to look at, isn't it?

I am sure they would also look great on an art journal spread or a mixed media canvas. And isn't having a collection of mixed media parts like these just utterly inspiring?

So many beautiful patterns and layers! I definitely have to do more of these - in other colors and with other stencils...the possibilities are endless and playing with stencils and paint is so much fun and also a very relaxing and rewarding thing to do! ;)

I hope you like my pillow boxes and I can't wait to see what you will do with your

self-made beautiful patterned stenciled strips!!

Thanks for stopping by and 

hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx