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Dreams and Visions
by Heather Harden
The start of a new year is a time many people set aside to make new beginnings in their own lives, changes in their lives or break old habits. In short, we make “New Year’s Resolutions”. We make them with the best intentions. Often they are difficult to achieve and we set ourselves up for failure, which can lead to shame and guilt.
The project this month is making a Treasure Box as a way to help clarify and manifest your dreams for the New Year. After all, what is a more precious treasure than our dreams? Instead of resolutions we will be looking at a positive way to manifest new projects and visions in our life. Decorating the treasure box will be a way to help clarify your dreams and it will be a visible reminder of them.
Tools:
• Scissors
• Fine sandpaper
• Craft knife
• Cutting mat or cardboard to protect your work surface
• Inexpensive paint brushes – 1” & ¼” inch bristle or foam brushes
• Disposable plate or small paint palette
• Markers, crayons, colored pencils, paint
• Flat craft stick or small brayer (roller)
• Glue gun & hot glue sticks (optional)
Materials:
• Wooden or cardboard box – small recycled box with a lid, wooden or papier mache boxes with hinged lids are available in a variety of sizes at most craft stores
• Decoupage medium or matt acrylic medium or thinned white glue
• Acrylic paint – if you want to change the color of the boxes before you decorate them
• Decorative paper, photos from magazines, your own drawings or photos, shells, beads, charms anything that captures the essence of your dream that can be glued to the box or that will fit inside it.
• Waxed paper, baking parchment, or scrap paper to cover your work surface while gluing. Be aware that if using old newspapers, the ink could transfer onto the surface of the box or the decorations.
• Small piece of ribbon (optional)
What Are Your Dreams?
What would you like to manifest in the New Year: A new job, a vacation to a special place, learn a new skill? Set aside some quiet time to ask your heart what it wants to manifest in the New Year. Don’t limit yourself to just one dream!
Start gathering things that will bring the dream alive for you. Use pictures from magazines, photos you have taken, decorative paper, charms, beads or draw or paint directly on the box. Photo paper can be difficult to glue, you may want to consider making color copies of the photos. The paper is thinner and adheres to the box better.
As you are gathering the materials that represent your dreams, picture the dreams as if they have already happened. If your dream is a special vacation, see yourself in that place enjoying yourself. Picture yourself in that new career doing a great job. Use your imagination to fill these mental images with as much rich detail as possible, really feel that dream as already reality.
Make the materials you gather to decorate your treasure box rich in detail also. If you are visual and respond to pictures, gather vivid images that capture your dream. If words help you capture the feeling better; make them as rich and detailed as you can.
It is easy to get overwhelmed by the scope of our dreams. You can feel that you have to do everything all at once and lose the necessary momentum to see it through. A helpful way to overcome this is to include concrete steps necessary to accomplish your dream. State them in positive terms and make them as manageable and concrete as possible. These can be part of the outside design or written down and placed inside the box to be referred to when you need a little boost.
Choosing the Materials
Unfinished wooden and papier mache boxes are available in many shapes and sizes at most craft stores. Boxes with hinged lids are an attractive choice. They can be displayed with the lids left open to show the contents of the box or be closed for privacy. Here is a small sample of boxes that are available.
When you have chosen the box and assembled the embellishments, make sure your container is clean and dust free. The container will be the backdrop for your design, use paint to change the color to compliment the materials you have gathered. If you plan to entirely cover the outside of the box, painting the box is not necessary. Paint the inside as well if you are incorporating that in your design. Paint the inside of the box before you start to decorate the outside (accidents happen).
Creating the Treasure Box
Before starting to glue, assemble your design elements and arrange them on the box. Move them around until you find a pleasing design. Layer the elements for a more complex dimensional effect.
When you are ready to glue, cover your work surface with scrap paper, waxed paper or baking parchment to protect your work surface from glue. You may either remove all the elements and remember where they were or remove them one at a time and apply the glue. Lay the elements upside down on the protective surface. Apply a thin layer of glue to the back of the elements; make sure you apply the glue all the way to the edges of the elements. You can also apply a thin layer of glue to the surface of the box. If you have layered your design, be sure to start with the bottom layer first.
Gently place the element on the box and smooth it out; starting at the middle of the element and gently pressing toward the edges with your fingers or a flat craft stick. Make sure there are no wrinkles or air bubbles under the elements. Check that the edges of the elements are completely glued all the way around,
If glue oozes out at the edge of the element, it can be gently wiped away with a slightly dampened rag or paper towel.
Continue this process until you are satisfied with your design. Cover as much or as little of the box as you wish.
Applying Objects with 3 Dimensions
Apply raised wooden or paper elements before applying the final coats of decoupage medium. Fabric or objects from natural should be added after the surface has been sealed and has dried completely. Use a small dot of hot glue to affix the objects.
Sealing the Surface
Cover the entire outside of the box with one or two coats of decoupage medium or thinned white glue (1 part glue to 3 parts water). If you have used an inkjet printer to create your design elements, take care when applying the first coat of the decoupage medium or the glue. The ink in many printers can smear when wet, so try to apply the medium in thin coats with as few brush strokes as possible.
Allow the medium to dry thoroughly between coats. When the final coat is dry decorate the inside of the box or add fabric or natural elements.
Finishing Touches
The lids of many hinged boxes will remain upright for display purposes, if yours does not tack a small piece of ribbon to the inside edge of the lid and the inside edge of the bottom of the box. Use small thumbtacks or a dot of hot glue to secure the ribbon.
An attractive way to record and display the smaller steps on the way to the Big Dream, is to record them on heavy paper and store them inside the treasure box. They can then be removed and propped next to the box as they become appropriate in your process. Having a coach can also be a big help.
When your Treasure Box has been decorated and has dried thoroughly, display it in a place where you will see it often, such as on your desk, a dresser or on your sacred space. Let it be an inspiration for the New Year. Remember; see your dreams as already a reality!
Wishing you and your families a year filled with joy and abundance!
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Heather Harden has been an avid crafter for all of her life who is fortunate to have had her parents and her grandmother as wonderful creative influences. She learned about process and detail through her work in the business world as a Programmer Analyst at Bath Iron Works. As the mom to a developmentally disabled adult daughter she honed her patience and creativity. She is currently pursing the fiber arts, as a dyer and a beginning quilter.
Got cool spirit crafting ideas? Send them into SpriritLiving at submissions@spiritliving.org and please include pictures of the steps!
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