DIY Craft Projects - Make Your Own Trinket Box

Make your own Polymer Clay Trinket Box

Years ago, when my son had just started middle school, he wanted to do something to help our local cat shelter. Because he's allergic to cats (he needs to take all sorts of precautions with our two cats, but with a bit of soap and water and a solid bedroom door, it has worked out all right), he couldn't volunteer inside the shelter. Instead, he made these little boxes for the shelter to sell at its fairs.

He used wood boxes that I'd been saving since I worked in a craft store as a teenager. After painting and varnishing them, he made polymer clay decorations for the tops. For this design, he rolled out pink polymer clay and cut out the heart with a small cookie cutter. He used a rounded stick to push the paw print design into the clay. After baking the clay, he colored the indented print with acrylic paint.

For this box, he used a mold for the cat design. After the cat was baked, he rubbed blue paint over the texture.