One of my all-time favorite color combinations is smokey plums with dusty greys.  So when I was looking to dress up my box to keep trinkets in, I was immediately drawn to the papers in the Crea Diem collection, lots of lovely vintage greys and smokey plum/pinks.

What is one of the most frustrating things when you are making up an altered box like this one? It’s what do you do at the corners!  Some tuck them under other layers of papers, some try to just have them but up against each other, but after looking at the Crea Diem papers I noticed that they have this lovely smokey, vintage edging.  I thought I’d take this edging idea and use it on my box design, keeping the paper application really simple!

I began by using my black ink pad and rubbing it along the edges of the box.  (the box I got very inexpensively from my local craft shop).

I then cut a square of one of the grey patterned papers in Crea Diem (Efter regn-bs).  I made the cut just slightly smaller than the full edge to edge of the box top.  Softly ink the cut edges so they match the inking on the outer edges of the patterned paper.  I used Aleene’s white glue adhesive to apply the paper panels. (Make sure you bring the adhesive right out to the edges.

What I found was really cool was that the cute little strips that you cut off from the bottom of the patterned papers? …..They are the PERFECT fit for the edge of the box top edges!  Continue to apply the rest of your panels to the box, adding decorative detailing with other patterned papers, lace and some flourishy rub-ons. I used pieces of the Crea Diem pinkish/plum paper called Fylid av Karlek-bs to insert into little tears I made in some of the panels (this should be done before you adhere the panel).

To decorate the top I just clustered together some loose flowers I had leftover in my stash from some past kits and painted up a Dusty Attic floral chipboard piece (Floral Corners) and gave it a coat of crackle medium.  Voila! You now have a pretty trinket box, easy-peasy!  I hope you’ll give it a try!