Kids’ Art Embellished Keepsake Box

Children’s art is one of my favorite things and when I can use it to make memorable gifts, all the better! Here I found some small painted boxes in the Target dollar spot and decoupaged favorite artwork on the top to make an adorable keepsake box. With Mother’s Day coming soon, wouldn’t these make a great gifts for mom or grandma? And they’re inexpensive too!

What you Need:

• Painted wooden Box (mine measures 4 1/8 x 6 1/2 and are 4 1/2 inches high, $3 at Target)
• Mod Podge or your favorite decoupage medium
• sponge brush
• copies of artwork sized to fit
• optional: craft paint(if your box is unpainted), decorative paper or fabric, stamps & ink, decorative edge scissors

Start by commissioning a piece of art by your young artist or choose one from your extensive archive like I did. Scan or photograph the finished piece and print to fit your box. Rebecca Cooper has some great tips for photographing children’s art on her blog, Simple As That. Read them here. For printing, I recommend using a laser printer or making a color photocopy at your local copy center. (In my experience, some inkjet prints will run when the decoupage medium is applied so better safe than sorry.)

Trim the copy to fit the top of the box. Try trimming the edges with a scalloped scissors for a fun effect. If your artwork isn’t  a perfect fit, try some creative cropping, or add a quote or stamps to fill the space.

Apply a thin coat of decoupage medium to the top of your box. Smooth the artwork in place working from the center out to remove bubbles. Coat the artwork with more decoupage medium and let dry. Apply additional coats according to package directions.

I think they look great as is, but you could add ribbon or other embellishments to complement your selected artwork or even line the box with fabric or decorative paper. Don’t forget to add the child’s name and age to the bottom or inside cover.

That’s all there is to it! For a really special gift, tuck a coordinating Kids’ Artwork Pendant like I made here inside. Or some cute recipe cards would make a nice addition too.

I hope Mom likes it!

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More posts from Left on Peninsula Road:

Kids’ Artwork Pendants | Artist-inspired Sketchbook | DIY Pendant for Mom