Keepsake Treasure Box Makeover

These days, everyone saves things from their relationships. Whether its movie tickets or pictures, there’s always some Pinterest idea for your keepsakes.

Personally, I don’t feel the need to make anything out of my tickets or other trinkets. I like being able to take them out and hold them. Particularly the letters Zac has written me throughout the years. Since he has been to several trainings that don’t allow cell phones, we have become very close friends with the US Postal Service. Those letters are one of my most prized possessions. So I have always just kept those things in a card board box under my bed, very close to me. But when I started to think about how often I will be moving in my life time, and the thought of losing that card board box to water damage crossed my mind, I was mortified. I immediately started the hunt for a better box. I found an adorable treasure chest at Michael’s, and it just happened to be on sale. It’s durable and made of thick wood, so it will hold up much better than card board and I can keep it out on display. With my 40% coupon in hand, I got the originally $60 treasure box for next to nothing.

But if you’ve been following my blog, by now you know everything I own has to be personal to Zac and I. Other wise, why do I even have it? So here’s what I decided to do!

Supplies:

• Keepsake Treasure Box
• Black and White Photos
• Mod Podge
• Paint Brush

** You can find the boxes at Michael’s and Hobby Lobby. Be sure to use your coupons and watch for sales! They come in a range of sizes and colors. I have a lot of letters and we have a good 16 years of the Army Life ahead of us, so I got the largest size possible.

**For the photos, don’t bother printing them on glossy paper. Printing them from a home or office printer on copy paper will actually work better for this project. So save yourself the money and print at home, work, or school. The amount will depend on the size of your box. The bigger the box the more pictures you will need.

Directions:

1. Wipe down the lid of your box. Make sure there is no dust.
2. Cut out your pictures. You can cut the whole picture out or just the silhouettes of you and your significant other. I decided to do a mixture of both to assure that all of the space would be filled.
3. Apply Mod Podge to the back of your photos and arrange them in the lid of your box. You have a bit of wiggle room since Mod Podge doesn’t dry right away. But be careful if you remove pictures that have Mod Podge on them, they will rip very easily.
4. Once you have all the pictures arranged how you like and all the space is filled, apply another coat of Mod Podge. It may show up white, but it will dry clear. Be sure to spread it even.
5. Leave the lid open to dry.
6. I wrote our names and the dates we started dating, and the date we got married on the wood panel, but you don’t have to do that.
7. Admire your work, Instagram it’s beauty and share it with the world!

I think it turned out pretty well! If I were to do it again, I would probably print my pictures off smaller so more would fit. But I still love it and I think Zac will too!