When my friend Nona sent me a photo of a similar Halloween project she had made with the round paper mache boxes, I absolutely loved it and had to make a Halloween Tower of Paper Mache Boxes myself! Since I didn’t have nor could find exactly the same decorations she had on hers, mine turned out a little differently, and yours will too if you make one also! I purchased some things at the craft store, I stamped the two greetings on the box, and some of the little trinkets I already had in my stash of Halloween decorations! The only problem was knowing when to stop, and that probably happened only because it was late at night! I might have added some ribbon or bows around the edges of the lids and maybe added a few more Halloween trinkets or stamped images, but, for now, I think it is finished!
I started with three round paper mache boxes and covered them with Stampin’ Up! designer series paper. As it turned out, I only used a small piece of the current Happy Haunting paper and used retired DSP for the boxes. It just depends on the patterns you are looking for and the quantity of paper you have. I needed a lot to go around the largest box on the bottom. I would advise you to think about your seams, which I forgot, but since “shabby” is okay on Halloween boxes, it didn’t really matter on this project! For me it was easier to use up some of my retired paper rather than the current, but for other paper hoarders out there, they would die to use up the retired paper that they might not be able to get more of if they used what they had! So whatever works for you!
I used good old Mod Podge for the adhesive for the paper on the boxes and applied the Mod Podge to both the box and the backside of the paper with a foam brush. It seems like there is some advantage in doing both the box and the paper, but I don’t remember that tip exactly. I knew I did need something that would provide some “movement” as the likelihood of getting the paper on perfectly straight on the first try was slim to none! I didn’t cover the outside of the paper with Mod Podge although I suppose you could.
After I had the boxes and lids all covered with paper, the fun began of decorating my Halloween home decor piece! I stamped the two Halloween greetings from the Witches’ Night Photopolymer Stamp Set and fancied them up with other Stampin’ Up! products and sponging. Other embellishments I bought at the craft store (you might find them on sale right now!) and some items I already had in my overly abundant Halloween decoration stash! Just play with what you have or what you buy and you will eventually come upon some placements and design that you really like. I used Fast Fuse Adhesive on most everything on the box, mostly out of laziness in not wanting to deal with my hot glue gun. Fast Fuse is REALLY sticky and I hope it will hold long term. I adhered the bottom of each box to the lid underneath it and all the trinkets to the lid. I suppose if you didn’t think it would get picked up or moved, you could get away without glueing things and therefore would make storage easier if you could store each box inside another, but I didn’t see any way around glueing the boxes together. The lids are not glued so I might be able to consolidate a little bit for storage.
Here is the project my friend made so you can see where I got the idea and perhaps provide even more inspiration for you to make your own!
If you are already a crafter, you might have some paper mache boxes in your closet or you can certainly buy them at the craft store. Then just gather some supplies and start playing and see what you come up with! You could also make a home decor project like this one for any other occasion, such as a birthday, a baby shower, Christmas, Easter, etc. My husband asked me if I made a Halloween cake!
You don’t always need to spend a lot of money at the store for fancy home decor. Often you can make something yourself for a lot less money, probably with things you already have on hand. And once you make it, it often becomes a very special decor piece to you and your family. Create your own memories for your household! I really like my Halloween Tower of Paper Mache Boxes Home Decor project and it looks great on my coffee table with my other Halloween decor!
If you need any papercrafting supplies, please visit my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE.