Decoupaged Contact Lens Box

Decoupaged Contact Lens Box

(Here's Looking at You, Kid!)

Last week I showed you a decoupaged cigar box which I gave to M for his birthday.

Today my decoupage project is a box which I gave to M to keep his new contact lenses in. Eventually he decided not to use the hard contact lenses, and went back to glasses. He now uses this box as a sewing kit, for needles, thread, and buttons.

For the top of the plain box, I used a very thick piece of leftover wallpaper. Normally this isn't a good idea for decoupage because it is too hard to sink it into the surface. And it didn't sink. But I still think it looks pretty.

Wallpaper goes on the exterior top of box.

I painted the top exterior brown and the bottom exterior white.

I painted  the rim white. I lined the bottom with brown velvet, with a trim of gold thread.

Full view of interior.

 But..Wait!

 What's that on the top?

A cut-out of an owl 

 from a greeting card

 is pasted on a white-painted background.

The top is also trimmed with gold thread. 

"Here's looking at you, kid!"

(at least while he wore contacts)

Decoupaged Cigar Box

Decoupaged Cigar Box

The process



In the 70s and 80s I used to do decoupage for fun.

At that time, it was a time-consuming craft, requiring patience. The process of traditional decoupage was something like this:

• 1. Cut a design (original art or someone else's).

• 2. Paste it onto a new surface (which you might first paint or otherwise refinish).

• 3. Protect it with several coats of varnish or other protector.

• 4. Sand down the decoration after each 5 coats.

• 5. After about 15 coats of varnish, apply one last coat of protector.

The idea was to make the decoration appear to be flush with the surface.

Now I think most decoupeurs use one coat of Mod Podge and skip the sanding steps.




The Modigliani  Box






Here is what I did to convert my grandfather's cigar box into a keepsake box which I gave to M for his birthday.

• First, I removed a couple of things from the interior which I'm guessing may have kept the cigars humid. The cedar wood was beautiful so I didn't want to paint it.

• Then I pasted a removable plate of Modigliani's "The Cello Player" (from a paperback about Modigliani) onto the top of the cigar box. 

•  The design goes over the box opening. I used a knife to slit the design at the place where the box opened. I wanted a smooth, unobtrusive opening.

• When you open the box, there's a surprise on the interior of the lid! I pasted a page of sheet music from a Mozart Sonatina. (M's favourite composer is Mozart.) I gave it to him for his birthday in 1977. I call it the Mozart Box; he calls it the Modigliani Box. When I moved into the house with him when we became engaged, he returned the box to me because he says it's a family heirloom. So we now share it!

• The interior is lined with blue velvet.