Recently, my sister has become obsessed with pearls. (Okay, maybe myself too...) I have a friend that became an independent consultant for Vantel Pearls. I have a few pieces and I can honestly say they are well worth the money. The quality and detail to the pieces are fantastic and I know they are pieces I will keep my entire life.

My sister has purchased several pieces for herself, and my mom and I have purchased some as a gift for her so I knew her jewelry armoire was probably starting to run out of room. Plus, a girl can never have to many jewelry boxes and displays! So I made her a pearl themed jewelry box as a Christmas present.  

I started with a paper mâché box that I bought at a craft store. I used Prima's graphite texture paste and a stencil to add a mermaid scale pattern and texture to the box. Next I created the mermaid tail and some of the shells from paper clay and some moulds. I also added some Opal Magic violet-gold paint to the back of some mini green and blue cabochons and left those to dry.


I glued on all of my elements, including decorative fish net, real shells and art stones using various adhesives. After everything was dry, I painted the whole surface with a heavy black gesso. Once that was dry, I painted the box with the Deep Waters acrylic Prima paint and the shells and mermaid tail with the Dark Velvet acrylic Prima paint. For highlight, I added some Opal Magic pain in violet-gold then added some more highlight with the vintage gold Prima wax. When everything was dry, I added the altered cabochons to the top and sides of the box. I also sprayed some small white paper roses with a Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist and glued those on to the bottom of the mermaid tail.


I changed the color of the Tim Holtz mini foundations feet using Vintaj Patina in white gold, then added some vintage gold Prima wax. While that was drying, I cut down a 12x12 sheet of Doodlebug flocked cardstock in beetle black to fit the inside of the box. I inked the white edges of the cardstock black with Distress Ink in black soot to match the flocking. Then I used Mod Podge matte to glue the flocked cardstock to the bottom and sides of the box, as well as the inside of the top of the box.


To finish off the box, I glued on the mini foundations feet then used Tim Holtz's Distress Micro Glaze to add more permanence to the jewelry box since it will be touched and used often.


Products Used:
Prima: Elementals 12x12 stencil - fish scale; Art Basics - heavy gesso black, heavy body gel, soft gloss gel; Art Extravagance - texture paste graphite; Art Ingredients - art stones; Art Alechemy Metallique - deep waters, dark velvet; Art Alchemy Opal Magic - violet/gold; Art Alchemy Wax - vintage gold | Tim Holtz: Distress Ink - black soot; Distress - Micro Glaze; Idea-ology - mini foundations | Vintaj: Patina - white gold | Doodlebug: Flocked Cardstock - beetle black | Tattered Angles: Glimmer Mist - fully purple | Recollections: Gems - round sea glass cabochons; Flower Shoppe - mini white roses, small white roses | Mod Podge: matte | Other: paper clay, decorative fish net, metal filigree, shells and mermaid tail moulds, pop dots, shells


I really enjoyed making this for my sister and am so pleased with how well it turned out--even the inside! That flocked cardstock from Doodlebug was the perfect touch to keep that nice pearl jewelry safe and scratch free!


Happy Crafting!
Adrienne