Kids like things!! And if you have kids like mine, that like little things, you might find this tutorial on how to make a cute Paper Mache Kids Trinket Box, helpful in keeping their most precious little things organized. So far living inside their trinket boxes includes rocks, tractors, hair bobbles, a melty bead creation, socks, a sue sue, a fidget spinner, and a flashlight. Lol… It’s fun to check once in a while at what’s new in their trinket boxes! And so fun to see what they think is important to keep. I love their little kid brains so much! I also check just to make sure nothing is actually growing and/or living in there!!!

So this Paper Mache Kids Trinket Box project can work for any age. I have young kiddos so their paper mache, and painting job was more like lumps and bumps and colour everywhere. I added their names to the top, but if you are working with older kids I think it would be so fun to create awesome different paper mache designs. Like a 3D animal face, a super hero face, or even better… a self-portrait in paper mache! That would be an awesome keepsake trinket box!

These are the Trinket boxes that we created; however, the kiddos prefer to call them their treasure boxes!

Paper Mache Kids Trinket Box Tutorial

MATERIALS NEEDED:

• Shoe Box
• Newspaper
• Toilet Paper (optional)
• White Craft Glue
• Water
• Large Bowl
• White Spray Paint
• Paint Brushes
• Paints
• Embellishments (we used precious Rhinestones)
• Kids!!

METHOD:

Step 1: Make your Paper mache mixture

EASY PAPER MACHE RECIPE

1 part White Craft Glue

2 parts Water

Mix white craft glue and water together in a large bowl, and add strips of newspaper into the goo. Like this: (demonstrated by Miss Ivy Linkins!)

Step 2: Craft the most beautiful paper mache sculptures on top of your shoe box.

Step 3: For smaller more detailed paper mache shapes, you can use toilet paper. I Added the kids names to their paper mache creations.

Step 4: To finish it off and secure the letters to the box, lay individual squares of toilet paper on top of your letters, and use a wet (with the paper mache goo mixture) paint brush, to work the toilet paper around the letters. Like this:

I ended up covering the whole top of the box with toilet paper to make it more even.

Step 5: After your project is dry, spray paint the outside of your paper mached shoe box with white paint. This just gives the box an even colour, so that the paint that your kiddos choose to decorate their trinket box with will show up well. Ivy’s box was bright orange (not the look she was going for). Wink!

Step 6: After the white paint is dry let your kiddos go to town with some kid safe paints. Like this:

Step 7: Add embellishments! We glued on some precious jewels (Rhinestones) to make our Paper Mache Kids Trinket Boxes BLING and SPARKLE!!

Step 8: Let them dry completely and let the kiddos fill them with everything that is special and important to them.

I hope your kiddos love creating their own Paper Mache Kids Trinket Box! We have been needing personalized trinket boxes in our lives for a while. The kids now have a place to put all of their special things that they don’t want their sibling touching, and that I don’t want to have to pick up off the floor all day long!! SCORE!!

Until next time, enjoy creating with your kiddos, and creating beautiful things everyday!

XO JCL