Woven Gift Box by Candice Windham

Makin’s Clay® Woven Gift Box

Designed by Candice Windham 

Summer celebrations can run the gamut from weddings to birthdays to graduations and beyond. All of the occasions call for gifts, and what better way to present a gift than in a gift in itself?

Dress up an ordinary paper mache box with the beautiful art of Makin’s No Bake Polymer Clay, and you’ll have a gift that will be remembered. This clay remains flexible when dried in thinner pieces, so you can bend it around the lid to get this great effect. 

Here’s how to do it:

Supplies:

Makin’s Clay® - Blue and Terra Cotta, 1 pack each, 4.2 oz.

                          - Roller and Cutters Set

                          - Texture Sheets, Honeycomb and Weave, 38003 Set C

                          - Ultimate Clay Machine™

                          - Work Mat

Paper mache box with lid, 6” x 6” x 5”

Strong adhesive (E 6000)

Spray Adhesive (3m Super 77)

Printed paper (Affinity Slab, Paper Studio)

Viva Décor Inka Gold, Lime, Violet, Rose Quartz, Blue

Viva Décor Pearl Pens, Violet, Copper, Blue

Navy Blue Craft Paint (Deco Art Crafter’s Acrylics)

Scissors, craft knife, brush

Instructions:

Use ¾ of the package of blue clay and the entire package of terra cotta clay.

Condition the clay by rolling it through the Makin’s Ultimate Clay Machine™ several times on setting one, then setting two.

Place the clay on the work mat and roll again with the clay roller to smooth out any raised areas. It should be approximately 8 ½” x 6”. Place the honeycomb texture plate on the blue clay, roll with the roller, line it up again and complete texturizing the entire sheet. Cut the clay into six 8 ½” x 1” strips. 

Repeat this step with the terra cotta clay, rolling it out to 8 ½” x 9”, using the weave texture plate and cutting nine 8 ½” x 1” strips. Set all clay aside to dry overnight, turning upside down occasionally to allow even drying.

Tip: I used some of the remaining clay scraps to blend together to make a nice warm brown, then rolled it out, pressed with the honeycomb texture plate and added it to a formica sample from the hardware store. If you ask, they often have outdated samples that they will give you. No need to raid their sample shelves. I used the remaining excess clay to press into a mold to make seashells that I will use on a later project.

Paint the box with inside and out with two coats of navy blue paint.

When clay has dried, lightly rub Viva Décor Inka Gold over the

strips, blending the colors.

Weave six blue and six terra cotta strips together, then turn it upside down on your work surface. 

Place the box lid upside down on the woven strips to make sure you have the weave tight enough to border the edges of the top. Apply E6000 to the entire lid, then place it down on the back of the woven strips. Place a heavy object such as a book on top until it dries.

Flip the box lid over and wrap the two corner pieces across each other, trimming to fit the lid edge. Don’t worry if this isn’t perfect. It will be covered with the final strips of terra cotta clay.

Fold every other remaining strip down and adhere to the box edge with E6000. Use clothes pins to clip the pieces in place until the glue dries. 

Allow the adhesive to dry. Once the adhesive is dry, remove the pins and attach the remaining strips around the outside edge, beginning and ending each strip at a point where one of the remaining strips from the top will cover the seam. Clip the strip in place with clothes pins as you go. 

When all of the side strips are in place, fold the remaining strips down over the edge, adhere in place and clip with clothes pins. 

Remove the pins and use a craft knife to trim the excess clay from the box edge.

Cut two strips of paper to fit the box bottom, coat evenly with spray adhesive and attach to the box. 

Use the Viva Décor Pearl Pens to highlight the paper pattern, but don’t add any within the top 1 ½” of the box lid line so that the lid still fits properly.

Now, just add a little tissue and tuck your gift inside. That’s it. Easy peasy, and the recipient will not only be overjoyed at your thoughtfulness, they will be amazed when you say, “I made this just for you.”