Blame it on my late mother, Moy, who loved to keep her hands busy with crafting projects for our home, or teaching others how to create practical/useful/beautiful things: I inherited the crafting gene. I’ve been keeping busy with all sorts of work-related projects for some time but decided to start painting/crafting at home about a month ago. Talk about good timing!

I’ve always been fascinated with paper, cardboard and repurposing items that I would ordinarily throw away. To get back in the groove, I looked at home for unfinished (or unstarted!) projects I may have in my crafting trunk and found this MDF box:

At the fabric store, I spotted these rolls of vinyl anti-skid mat and was drawn to the texture. They are soft and easy to cut with scissors, so I cut out a few pieces to decorate the box.

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After sealing the box with two coats of gesso, I used white glue to attach the motifs and sealed with gesso as well.

Now came time to paint the box with the acrylics I always have on hand. I’m shamelessly drawn to green and orange. In fact, should you ever visit my home and spot decorative objects in these colors, chances are I made them!

I finished painting the box using gold paint.

Then came time to apply an antique patina to the box. I do this using black acrylic paint combined with an acrylic retarder medium I found at the local craft store. This step always scares the hell out of me because I think I’m going to mess the project up! However, I like the metaphor: you take risks, try something unpredictable, learn from the results.

Once I finished antiquing the box, I sealed it with three coats of clear glossy varnish.

The finished product! (Yes, the bookshelf is green; I painted it that color!)

What type of activities do you enjoy at home? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section, below!