Bravely Bohemian Favorites

Need a unique Valentine’s Day gift? Try your hand at making a boho altered art shadowbox.

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My boho altered art project began when I found this great little shadowbox at my favorite thrift shop. Even better, I picked it up for only 99 cents. Altered art printer trays have always attracted my attention, so I decided to play with some mixed media myself.

My boho personality also loves any excuse to collect some of this and that to eventually use in my artwork. So I dug around my art studio for embellishments, rubber stamps, paints and other supplies and found objects that would give texture to my shadowbox. I hope my boho altered art shadowbox inspires you!

Supplies:
Printer Tray or Shadow Box (from a thrift shop, garage sale or the craft store)
Sandpaper
Copper, Gold and Silver Metallic Acrylic Paint
Scrapbooking Paper Scraps
Paper Punches and/or Sizzix Machine and Dies
Rubber Stamps and Ink
Black Embossing Powder and Heat Gun
Scissors
Paint Brushes
Craft Glue
Misc Found Objects (such as Old Buttons and Vintage Costume Jewelry)
Misc Craft Store Finds (such as Microbeads, Scrapbooking Stickers, Stick-on Jewels, Mini Bead Garlands, Felt Designs and Gift Basket Fillers)

Steps:
1. Start by painting your shadow box or printers tray. You may need to lightly sand your tray and wipe with a damp cloth first. This will help the paint adhere better to the wood.

I painted my box with gold and copper metallic acrylic paint and then used silver metallic paint for the interior of each of the boxes. I also added a touch of silver to the front edge here and there.

2. Next play with your papers, found objects and craft store finds to give you ideas on what to place where.
I chose to start by creating the LOVE banners. Once I decided to place the letters diagonally as the focal point of the piece, the rest of the boxes were easier to design.

3. Create your art elements and then assemble your shadow box. Think about colors, dimension and personality. There are no wrong choices! Run with that bohemian spirit!

Here’s a tour of my shadowbox (All openings are 1 inch by 1 inch):

Top Row:

Box 1: Square filled with silver gift basket filler. “L” rubber stamped in black on floral scrapbook paper, then heat embossed in black. L then layered on burgundy paper cut from Sizzix die.

Box 2: Red metallic mini bead garland with vintage-looking metal stick-on.

Box 3: Banner cut in black glitter paper with Sizzix die. Fleur de lis metal jewelry finding.

Box 4: Hot pink mixed microbeads with felt puffed heart.

Second Row:

Box 1: Square cut from scrapbooking punch in burgundy metallic. Tiny birds and hearts cut from Sizzix machine and dies.

Box 2: Square filled with gold gift basket filler. “O” rubber stamped in black on floral scrapbook paper, then heat embossed in black. L then layered on burgundy paper cut from Sizzix die.

Box 3: Assorted frosted glass stick-on jewels.

Box 4: Vintage antique gold shoe clip.

Third Row:

Box 1: Vintage antique gold shoe clip.

Box 2: Square cut from scrapbooking punch in burgundy floral paper. Vintage Christmas gold wire with berries shaped into heart.

Box 3: Square filled with silver gift basket filler. “V” rubber stamped in black on floral scrapbook paper, then heat embossed in black. L then layered on burgundy paper cut from Sizzix die.

Box 4: Banner cut in black glitter paper with Sizzix die. Mini vintage heart jewelry finding attached to vintage gold button.

Fourth Row:

Box 1: Hot pink mixed microbeads with felt puffed heart.

Box 2: Vintage button.

Box 3: Square cut from scrapbooking punch in black glitter paper. Mini heart and key vintage charms.

Box 4: Square filled with gold gift basket filler. “E” rubber stamped in black on floral scrapbook paper, then heat embossed in black. L then layered on burgundy paper cut from Sizzix die.

Front Edge:

Decorated with 5 frosted glass stick on jewels and 2 large black glitter paper birds cut with dies and Sizzix machine. The LOVE pennants are also glued to the front edge of the shadowbox.

Happy Valentine’s Day crafting! To see more Valentine’s day boho altered art, click here.

Here’s a quick and fun do-it-yourself project for Valentine’s Day using some of those neat laser cut wood products that are flooding craft stores like Michaels these days.

You Will Need:
Large Laser Cut Wood Plaque
Large Wooden Heart
2 Laser Cut Words (I chose “Love” and “Adore”)
Small Laser Cut Wood Heart (I chose one with a flower and leaf motif)
3 small Wooden Hearts
Red, White, and Pink Acrylic Paint
Paint Brushes
Glue Gun
Twine
(I found all of my supplies at Michaels.com. Look for the Artminds brand).

Directions:
1. Start by painting the wood hearts and words. I painted the small laser cut heart and the words white. I painted the 3 small wood hearts red.

2. Next paint the large wood heart. My example has 2 layers. The outer heart is painted white and the inner heart is painted hot pink.

3. Then paint the large laser cut plaque. I chose to paint the middle section white with the outer part blending into pale pink. I then used hot pink paint to casually shade the outer edge of the plaque.

4. Once dry, arrange your wood hearts and words on the large laser cut wood plaque as desired.

5. Use a hot glue gun to glue all the pieces together.

6. Cut and knot twine to the top of the plaque. Your project is ready to hang!

Enjoy your new Valentine’s Day laser cut wood decor! Happy Crafting!

To find more great DIY Valentine’s Day projects and other fun boho craft ideas, click here.