First up, congrats to Ally.  I drew her name at random to win my blogiversary giveaway.  Many thanks to everyone who took the time to leave a comment, I appreciate every one of you!

In other news, I’m back from Mexico and working hard to get back in the festive Christmas spirit.  And by working hard, I mostly mean I’m watching sappy holiday rom coms while watching the snow come down outside my window.

I have to say, it’s a bit jarring to go from 85° and sunny with this view …

back to 4° and this view, with more snow predicted today.

But that being said, it’s always good to be back home and ready to work on some projects.

Speaking of which, over the summer my friend Jackie gave me a bunch of boxes to paint, including a small cardboard case with a handle.  Then, just a week or two ago my friend Susan also gave me a small black case.

Since I got such good results adding a stencil to an unpainted suitcase a few weeks ago, I thought I’d try it again with both of these.

Let’s start with the black case.

It’s a little beat up, but I think that’s part of its charm.

I first added a shadow to the words “Rudolph and Co” using Dixie Belle’s Dried Sage.

Then I applied the entire stencil using DB’s Ecru.

By the way, I think I often forget to mention it, but I usually fill in the bridges on stencils using a small artist’s brush.  For more info on what that means, and also on how to create the shadow, check out my ‘how to stencil’ post.

This little case had some pretty fabric lining, but there was a big stain on the bottom.  So I simply covered that up with some Christmas themed scrapbook paper.

I gave the outside of the case a quick coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax to add some protection.

Moving on to the cardboard case.

After using my usual technique of stenciling the larger typography in a dark color, in this case Dixie Belle’s Coffee Bean, to create a shadow, I moved the stencil slightly up and over and then … well … I made a colossal mistake.

I taped the stencil down around all four sides.  This particular stencil is cut pretty close to the edges of the stencil and I thought it would best to avoid getting paint off the edge of the stencil with my large Best Dang Brush from Dixie Belle (my favorite brush for stenciling, FYI) by taping them off.

I used the yellow Frogtape, which is meant for delicate surfaces, but nonetheless, when I pulled it up it took the top layer of the case with it.

Ugh!

I really should have seen that coming!  It was especially disappointing because the stencil itself looked really pretty darn good.

My typical first reaction to this sort of thing is to throw a little tantrum, and then shove the item to the back of the closet and leave it there.  According to my mother, this was how I handled her telling me to hang up my coat as a child.  I guess some personality traits never change.

But, I’m slightly more mature now.  So I took a step back and thought perhaps I could fix it with paint.

I started by stippling some of Dixie Belle’s Dried Sage over the tape damage.  It’s a little more green than the background color of the case, but it was the closest color I had.  Next I stippled some of the Coffee Bean over it.

It’s not perfect, but I think it sort of works.  I’ve gone ahead and ordered some Dixie Belle paint in a color called Pine Cone to see if that might be a closer match.  But in the meantime, I think this was a pretty good save.

As for the inside of this case, it was lined with paper that was a bit stained.  So I got out my stash of scrapbook paper and picked out some Christmas paper to affix over the old stuff.

I’m not 100% positive, but I’m fairly sure that is another paper from October Afternoon, a now defunct local company that made all kinds of fab scrapbook supplies.

I found the perfect spot for this little case in my own home for now.

I’ll hang onto it until I can do a little more touch up with the Dixie Belle Pine Cone.

As for the Rudolph & Co case, that is for sale locally.  Check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

I think both of these little cases would make adorable gift boxes, but what would you do with them?  Leave a comment and let me know.