The “Uh-Oh” Box « The Hybrid Chick

The “Uh-Oh” Box

By Jessica Pranaitis Saturday June 27, 2009

This is such a fun gift when you stuff it full of useful things, like diapers, wipes, an extra outfit, clothes, bottle, food, a baby spoon, etc. I know that there was more than one time that I was late for something and ran out the door without grabbing a diaper bag (or maybe I grabbed it, but forgot to see if there were still diapers in it!) and was saved by my emergency stash. You could even throw in a few granola bars or a bag of trail mix for momma, in case she’s out somewhere and needs a quick energy boost.

For this project I didn’t stop to plan everything out and just grabbed things as I went along (I even cleaned up my work space a bit first so I could find everything!) so even though only the box itself is pictured, I ended up using the following supplies:

What I Used:

Photo storage box (from Michael’s)
Little Sugar Mini Kit by Elise’s Pieces at The DigiChick
65 lb. white paper
Making Memories acrylic paint
Paper Mod Podge
Colorbox Chalk ink
Offray white ribbons
Prima flowers (green)
Making Memories flower (white)
Clear button
Glue Dots
Memory Stor tape runner

The first thing I did was measure out the dimensions of the box so that I would know how big to create my Photoshop documents. The lid was 11.25 inches long so even if I did have a borderless printer, I knew that I would be able to print a document big enough to cover the whole thing. Instead of piecing something together out of multiple print-outs, I decided that I would simply leave a white border around the edge of the box.

So I pulled out some of the acrylic paint and got to work painting around the edges. The box soaked up the paint a bit, and it took about three coats to completely cover the bright pink of the lid. I think next time I’d give the lid a quick once-over with ModPodge to seal if first.

In between coats, I began creating my Photoshop documents and deciding which papers and elements I wanted to use. After getting it all set, I began to print. Apparently I didn’t measure quite as accurately as I thought that I had however, and some of the sizes had to be adjusted and reprinted. Whenever that happens though, I just set aside those first pages so that I can go back later and cut out the printed pieces to make cards or other projects out of. Since measuring is not really my strong point, I have quite the stack of rejects waiting to be recycled!

After I printed the papers for the lid, I discovered that the green in them was a perfect match for the bottom of the box. I was originally planning to cover the whole thing, but this happy accident saved me quite a bit of work. I started by covering the sides in the strips that I had printed, matching up the pattern as I went along.

I started at a short end and wrapped the paper the whole length and then folded onto each of the long sides. I figured that the edges would stay neater if the ends didn’t meet there. I used Mod Podge for my adhesive and just smoothed it onto the box as I went. After I got all the sides covered I let it dry for a few minutes, then turned it upside down, cut the corners and started folding it over, again using Mod Podge to glue it. My reverse tweezers came in handy here to help hold the paper down while it was drying. As you can see, even after I remeasured, I still didn’t print off big enough strips of paper to cover all of the pink that was originally there.

To make it look neater inside, after my fold had dried, I grabbed the original printout that I had set aside and used those strips to finish the covering job. Then I added a spot on the inside of the lid for jotting down important phone numbers, like the pediatrician, as well as a spot for a baby photo and a little embellishment from the kit. I used my tape runner to glue down the journaling spot so that a photo could be slipped underneath the top of it, like a photo pocket.

After the sides had dried, I inked the edges with a creamy brown color, and set to work on the top. I inked around the edges of the cover and then, using the Mod Podge again, glued it down. I didn’t think that the polka dot letters stood out enough against the polka dot background paper, so I added a second piece of solid, neutral paper to the top with the title on that instead.

Then I started digging around for some matching embellishments and found some flowers, a bit of white ribbon, and a clear button. I stacked up my flowers, threaded my button and stuck them all together with glue dots. Then I slipped a piece of paper behind the label and added some folded ribbons to the front. Voila! All finished…

But wait… I’m giving this project away! Plus, I’ll even throw in a couple of diapers and two coordinated onesies, so all you’ll have to do for the perfect baby gift is add your own creative items to the box! Just leave a comment to this post for your chance to win it. If you want to double your chances of winning then make your own blog, Twitter or Facebook post telling everyone about the Baby Shower we’re having here at The Hybrid Chick and post a link!