Day 14 Winner & Part 1 Scissor Crypt Tutorial

Is Dawn in AZ. Congrats and watch for an email.  Now pop on over to Annette’s to get entered for today and then come back for the scissor crypt tutorial part 1.

Cat let me know her prize arrived and on a very  appropriate day too.

Scissor crypt, lined in purple silk dupioni with lavender scissors, Swarovski glass black pearl bat pin and skull counting pins. Black cat thread winder and a bag of candy.

Now on to the tutorial. Remember list of materials needed for both parts of the tutorial are HERE.

Boxes before. Peel off the stickers, you may want to lightly sand the areas where the adhesive was on the box – but I didn’t bother. EDITED TO ADD: I purchased my coffins at Michaels. In the post with the material list HERE I did provide sources for almost everything.

I squeeze a couple of tablespoons worth of paint into a disposable bowl when I paint. I used the smaller foam brush and a medium artist’s brush.

Ok, paint the insides. You do not have to paint the inside top & bottom completely because those areas will be covered later with padding and fabric. But do make sure you do get around the inside edges so that any less than perfect fitting won’t be noticeable.  Let dry – 1 hour is usually plenty. Before you leave them to dry, grab a paper towel and wipe the paint off of the hinges and clasp.

Turn, paint more. Let dry.

More painting, more wiping, more drying. Painting the box usually takes 2ish hours but only 10-15 minute bursts of actual work.

All painted and dry! I did let all the  paint dry over night to make sure it was 100% set before sanding.  Take your painted box and handy dandy sanding sponge out side or at least to the garage.

Oooo… antiqued. I sanded every painted surface and took off a little more at the edges and where I though it would wear the most from handling. This step only takes 10-15 minutes too.

Now for the fun stuff. Briwax. Read and understand the directions. When it says use in a well ventilated area, this is not a suggestion, it is a REQUIREMENT. I did this on a 85 degree sunny day with a mild breeze on a completely open back deck – and the fumes were strong when the breeze blew them towards me.  So, Briwax, opener/flat head screwdriver, box, disposable gloves, steel wool. Depending on the temperature the Briwax can be a liquid as thin as water or a sticky wet paste, all are ok. Put your gloves on before you open the Briwax. Dip a tiny corner of your steel wool in the Briwax and rub onto all the painted surfaces of your box. Don’t worry if you use a little too much, or if it gets all over the hinges. Multiple thin coats (I ended up using 3) letting them dry (about 1 hour, again depending on the weather where you’re at) between coats.  Then using the blue shop towels or rag you don’t care about rub the box until it has a sheen. You don’t need tons of elbow grease, if you can wash dishes you can do this. Rub it until you think it’s pretty. You can always add more coats of wax if you want. While buffing pay attention to the hinges and clasp and rub the wax off from these areas.

It is also necessary to seal your Briwax up between uses. It has a solvent in it that evaporates, if you allow it to evaporate out of the can – you’ll have a worthless can of Briwax. Don’t be paranoid about it, but don’t leave it open for hours between coats.

Back inside, antiqued & waxed on the right – still to be done on the left. The reason there is a week between tutorials, it will take about 2-3 days before the solvent smell completely disappears from your box. Leave it out in the garage or on the porch so you’re not stuck with the smell in the house.

Remember Briwax is also a STAIN. Wear your gloves, clothes you don’t care about, and if you’re wearing a sleeveless dress to your sister’s wedding the next day – you may not want to wax right now. Those spots took about 2 days & showers to disappear.

Part 2 will be next Friday, fitting the insides with padding and fabric.