There's no better feeling than having the coolest decorated gift at the party.

Recently, I was cruising the gift wrap aisles and came across a set of metallic nesting boxes (a steal for $4.99 at Target). They looked a bit plain for my taste, so to spruce them up, I used some fabulous rubber clay molds made by the Polyform company. Each bendable mold contains nine or 10 designs and is sold in themes. I went for a travel theme and used the African, Egyptian and Asian motifs. After baking them, I highlighted the clay pieces in metallic paint to match the boxes. Now all I need is a party.

Supplies
1 set of nesting gift boxes
Assorted Polyform clay molds in Egyptian, African and Asian themes
Assorted colors of Premo or Sculpey oven-bake clay
Craft knife
Silver and gold acrylic paint
Hot glue
Cookie sheet

Directions: Take a small hunk of clay and press it into the center of the mold. Spread it to the edges with your fingers. Carefully bend the mold to remove the clay. Working on a flat surface, trim away excess clay with the craft knife. Continue the process until you have the desired number of pieces to apply to your boxes. Bake them on a cookie sheet in the oven at 175 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool. Using your finger, lightly dab silver or gold paint over the top of the clay designs to add subtle highlights. Attach to box with hot glue.

Tips and variations: These motifs can also be used to decorate picture frames, jewelry, light-switch covers, mirrors, journals, scrapbooks and more.


***
CLICK HERE to see my crafty videos at LifetimeTV.com!

Other links:
STORE * BOOK * T-SHIRTS * MY SPACE * FLICKR

* All content/photos copyright, © Kathy Cano-Murillo, 2007. For more artsy goodness, check out CraftyChica.com * for awesome crafty resources check out DuncanCrafts.com

Labels: home decor, inside, multi-culti