Because my dad was in the Air Force, we had an opportunity to live in the Phillipines for almost 3 years when I was a little girl. It was an amazing place, and I think about my experiences there quite often. I learned to ride horses, braved through typhoons (once, a typhoon's eye went right over Clark AB - we played outside for a short while it was passing overhead), and survived a terrible infection from a knee injury. I learned the truth about Santa Claus here, and found that my favorite toys in the whole world were Legos. Being a tropical chain of islands, the Phillipines gave me a real introduction to BUGS, and I mean, bugs of all kinds!!! My favorites to play with and keep as "pets" were praying mantis, and to this day, I still have a fondness for them.
My youngest daughter isn't too squeamish about most bugs, either, and I'll find her playing with them from time to time. When I saw this unfinished box at Michaels for less than a buck, I thought it would be a great "bug" box! It measures about 2 x 3.5 x 2 inches all around, and has a screened & hinged lid on top.
To start, I removed the front hardware/clasp and used acrylic paint for the very top of the box. Even though it's dark in the photo, in real life, the paint is a pretty close match to Rich Razzleberry. The angle of the photo throws the color off a bit. I trimmed Tall Tales Designer Series Paper to size on all four sides (including the lid pieces), and stamped the butterfly & word trail from the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set in Rich Razzleberry ink. The butterfly dots were colored in with a white gel pen. When it was dry, I used ModgePodge to glue the papers on, then rubbed the sanding block on all edges. Little flowers were stamped on both sides using the same acrylic paint (you can see a truer version of the paint color better there), and applied a final coat of ModgePodge. I finished up by gently hammering the hardware back into position...
I hope I didn't make you queasy talking about bugs today, but don't ya think this would make a cute little gift for any budding entomologist?! My little girl thinks it's "the bee's knees"! OK, I couldn't resist - have a great day! :)
4 comments:
My girl loves to play with bugs, too! Mostly she likes roly-polys though. She's also into lizards and frogs - which would be another great temporary use for your box!!
Oooh, I love this! Those bugs have never had it this good!
What a great idea. You did a fabulous job. So fun!
Great idea and super cute!
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