If you want to make a decoration or a surprise gift from your pretty holiday pictures, you've come to the right place! Here is a tutorial where I show you how with scrap material and a paper-mache box, you can give texture to a photo and add a beautiful decor to it! As an example, I present you the box in the shape of a suitcase that I decorated on the theme of a photo of a summer holiday by the seaside!

Step 1: [ S U P P L I E S ]

( 1 ) BOX made of cardboard, wood, paper-mache or plastic. Here a suitcase shaped box.
( 2 ) SHELLS picked up on a beach or purchased from the decorations section of a store, to represent the nautical theme of the photo (replace this ornaments according to the theme of your photo: plants, stickers, charms, objects).
( 3 ) ACRYLIC PAINT that matches your photo and scrap material. ∗
( 4 ) BEADS AND STRASS in different sizes, shapes and colours, in resin, acrylic or glass.
( 5 ) EFFECT PAINT matching pearls and rhinestones. ∗
( 6 ) BRUSH AND GLUE classic.
( 7 ) PHOTO of your choice, holidays, family, etc.

∗ here patina cream INKA GOLD "Turquoise" and acrylic paint SILK "Iridescent Gold".

Step 2: [ B a S E ]

( 1 ) Clean the box with a cloth to remove any dust.
( 2 ) Then cover your brush (or if you use patina on your finger) with the paints of your choice that will constitute the background colour of your box, then paint the inside of the box. Here I painted only 2/3 of it as the color of the remaining paper-mache serves as the "sand color" for my childhood photo on holiday by the seaside.
( 3 ) With the paints, paint a decor that matches your photo. For my part, where the patina stops, I made an irregular outline in the shape of waves.
( 4 ) Then paint some areas with effect paint to give more detail to your decor. For my part, with the pearly white paint, I created sea foam all along the wave delimitation.

Step 3: [ P a I N T I N G ]

( 5 ) To be able to cut the photo to the box size, transfer the dimensions of the inside of your box to a blank sheet of paper.
( 6 ) Then cut out the paper to make a template to cut the photo to the right size.
( 7 ) Place the template on the photo at the place of your choice and cut it off.
( 8 ) Coat the back of the photo with glue and stick it in your box. This steps can be repeated for any other photo to put in the box. In the case of this box on the theme of the seashore, I chose to decorate the top with the photo and the bottom with a small beach made from paint and scrap material.

Step 4: [ E M B E L L I S H I N G ]

( 9 ) Then gather scrap materials such as rhinestones, pearls, stickers, papers, etc. As well as items collected on the day the photo was created and recycled objects that represent the individuals in the photo. For this childhood photo by the sea, I chose for example sand-coloured shells, white pearls, blue strass, sea-themed stickers and reused two scrabble letters to represent the initials of the first names of my sister and me.
( 10 ) Choose them in different sizes, shapes, colours and textures to match your photo.
( 11 ) Next, place all these materials in the box and glue them together.
( 12 ) Repeat the same steps (9), (10) and (11) to decorate the outside of the box.

Step 5: [ E N J O Y ]

That's it, your pretty keepsake box featuring your photo is ready! All you have to do is offer it or use it to decorate your home! The subjects can be about seasons, special events, people, important moments. You can do the same for family photos, Christmas photos, on the countryside, a travel, a pet... Any photo can be decorated with small elements to highlight it!