Florida Memories Exploding Box

After five years of being a Floridian, my daughter packed up to attend grad school in another state. She left behind scores of friends, colleagues, a few family members, and loads of memories. So, when presented with a Double Explosion Box from Alpha Stamps, I didn't have to think twice about how it was to be decorated. It was fortunate for me to also have gotten two collage sheets of vintage Florida postcards and souvenirs...it couldn't have been more timely! I covered the exterior of the box with a few choice images and on the top went a miniature white beach chair, Cocktail Umbrella, and an over-sized Cosmo. It's hot in Florida. You gotta stay hydrated, people.

To make the topper for the box, I first traced the around the bottom of the chair onto a wooden disk, slathered glue over the disk (avoiding the traced area), then dumped a profane amount of glitter atop the glue. It wasn't purposeful, just one of those inevitable crafty mishaps that always end with either a hot glue blister or being covered in glitter. The chair, umbrella, and shells were glued in place and I added a baker's twine edging. Technically, I added the twine first but I'm too lazy to go back and edit the instructions. 

The box itself is 3" x 3"- an excellent size for a small gift- and the "exploding" interior offers eight surfaces to embellish. I used these areas for photos of my daughter and her friends, and found the mini box portion of the Framed Matchbox Book to be cute picture frames. 

To keep with the overall theme, I figured a souvenir snow globe was a must because nothing says memories like a cute figurine in a dome of water! Mine isn't quite as complicated though. I glued a Micro Mini Flamingo to the base of a Miniature Glass Snow Globe, added a wee Bushy Plant, and once dry, dumped a bit of glass microbeads in the globe before attaching the base with Glossy Accents glue. The snow globe is stuck on the wooden disk with a glue dot and can be removed easily.

And finally, a little tip if you want to cover the bendy parts of chipboard or cardboard. Use linen book tape. It is flexible, paintable, and durable. Sometimes, however, you find yourself out of linen tape and have to make do with Duck Brand Fabric Tape (which works nearly as well, btw). 

I'm off to mail this exploding box in hopes of it being a nice surprise to my daughter. I'm also sending along a photo of our cat which she will most assuredly love!

Supply List for can be found HERE. Keep on making!