Pirate Treasure Chest and Booty!

Arrgh!

It's time for a Pirates treasure chest and the booty to go with it!

Hello there, it's Meri from ImagiMeri's Creations.  I found a wooden box laying around the studio and I thought it would make a great little treasure chest for my grandsons.  Since there are three grandsons under the age of 3, I have to make the treasure (booty) large enough that they can't swallow it and I also thought we could make a fun game of finding the treasure around the house.  You can make this with any cardboard box, too.  Here's the directions and supplies:

These are the different finishes I used for the treasure box

and the coins themselves.

Gloss brown paint, gloss black paint, two-part Folk Art rust
paint, Decoart fluid media's, Inka gold paste, and Elegant
Finish bronze paint.

These are the supplies used to create ornaments for the treasure box and also to create the coins.

Creative PaperClay, wooden box, corn starch, brush to apply
corn starch to mold, rolling pin for clay, knife, sandpaper,
tacky glue, water and clay mold (Prima).

First I had to sand down the wooden box as it had a shiny
lacquer surface.

I then proceeded to set up my Prima air dry clay mold.

Using a paintbrush, I dabbed cornstarch into the mold.  This
will help make the release of the clay easier.

I gently tapped out the excess cornstarch.

Using a ball of clay I then flattened it out into a pancake and
then placed it over the part of the mold I wished to use.

Using my knife I then proceeded to smash the clay into
the mold while at the same time scraping away the
excess.  I did this carefully so as not to shred the clay
already in the mold.

Once I had it nice and level I then placed it in my little
toaster oven set at 250 degrees.  I only let it set for about
10 minutes and then pulled it out.  I was able to remove the
piece just fine (using a potholder to hold the mold) and
put it aside.  I then proceeded to make three more (one extra
in case I messed one up).

Here they are, not completely dry, but sturdy enough for me
to work with.

When you can handle them without fear of breaking them, you
can then start cleaning off the "fringes" around the edges.
I use an Xacto knife for this.

I have measured and found the center of my box top.  Using
the Tacky glue I then glue three decor pieces down and let
them dry.

I didn't show this in the supplies, but I found some gold
Dresden in a Greek key design and thought I'd add it around
the edges.  You can definitely add whatever you feel like
to your creation.

This is after one coat of gesso.

Second coat of gesso.

While the box was drying I rolled out some clay, used a round
cookie cutter and cut out some large 3" rounds.  I then pressed
them into one of the designs in my mold to make them look
like "Royal" coins.

After much painting and layering of finishes, I'm done with
the Pirates treasure box.

Golden coins, too!

I hope you enjoyed this project.  Please leave a comment and let me know if you give this a try.

Hugs,
Meri