Mixed Media Mojo: Oatmeal Box to Gift Box

I started my life as an oatmeal box. Hung out in that lazy susan for quite awhile. Got dizzy many a day as Barb looked for something she had hidden in there. Of course, she never lost sight of me, I was big and tall and round. Alas one day the last bowl of oatmeal was eaten and I was thrown in the brown recycle bag. Barb must have suffered garbage remorse because before I made it to the big bad green bin and then a ride in the noisy truck, Barb rescued me and put me on the counter. I will live again but what will a big, tall and round box become.

I just heard I am on the way to becoming a gift box for a lovely teenager. I know I will like living with Haille and her family.

I was wiped out several times with a damp cloth to remove all the oatmeal dust. Some scrapbook paper was glued to me for my first layer. Now for a true recycle project why didn’t she use some magazine pages instead of good scrapbook paper. Of course, believe me, with all her paper, she will never miss two pieces. A layer of Gesso was scrapped on me with a palette knife.

After I had dried, Barb scrunched up a paper towel and got out bottles of acrylic paint and started dabbing/sponging it all over me. She put on about 4 different colors so you can see lots of variation in my color. Barb heard that Haille’s favorite color is blue.

She cut wacky circles out of a catalog with her Silhouette machine. This is a fun machine. She could have cut these circles by hand but the machine makes it so fast. Some of the circles were cut in half to make the border at the top. Other circles in different sizes were randomly glued onto the surface. Now the fun will begin.

Now she got out the blue and green paint and started painting the circles.

Of course every box needs to have a perfect top. She cut circles to fit inside the top of the lid. She then painted them to match the colors of the box.