Welcome to Day 19 of my 25 days of Craftmas series!  Today, I’m showing you how to make this Christmas centerpiece box.  It’s hard to tell from the picture, but the design on the front of the box is burned into the wood using a scorch marker.  I’ve seen these around and I really wanted to give one a try.  I’m really happy with how it turned out and I’m excited to show you how to make it! Read on for the full tutorial.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED

HERE’S WHAT YOU DO

STEP 1: DOWNLOAD THE FREE SVG FILE

The first thing you’ll need to do is get the free SVG file you’ll use for this project.  I keep all the SVG files I use for the projects I make in my SVG Library.  These SVG files work with Cricut and Silhouette machines, as well as many others.  This library is open to everyone and is free!  You can access the library here. Look for the file called Merry. It will be listed under the category-Craftmas 2020 – Day 19.

STEP 2: PREPARE VINYL DESIGN

Open the design in your software program.  Size the design to 17″ wide and leave the height proportional. Draw a rectangle around the letters that is 20″ x 5.5″ (which is the size of the piece of wood you’ll be putting it on).  For this design, you’ll want to center it from top to bottom, but shift it over so it’s about 1/2″ from the right edge.

Do you need more help with creating a vinyl stencil?  Check out these posts.

How to Make a Vinyl in Cricut Design Space.
How to Make a Vinyl Stencil in Silhouette Studio

I used Oracal 651 for the stencil, but you can also use Stencil Vinyl.

When everything is sized correctly, you can cut the design with your Cricut or Silhouette. Once it has finished cutting, weed away the excess vinyl.

 

Cut a piece of transfer tape a little bigger than the design and place it sticky side up on your work surface.  Then, place the vinyl lettering on top of it and smooth it down.

Trim off the excess transfer tape and vinyl backing.

Then, rub over the design with your scraper.

STEP 3: BURN THE DESIGN ON THE WOOD

Flip the design over and remove the vinyl backing.

Position the design on the piece of wood. Match the straight edges of the stencil with the edges of the wood..

Rub over the design with a scraper.

Then, pull off the transfer tape.

Next, trace over the design with a scorch marker.  The fluid inside is tinted just a bit, so you should be able to see where you have traced.

After you’re finished tracing, carefully pull off the vinyl stencil.

Now the fun part! Grab your heat gun and start heating up the design.

Like magic, the design will start to turn dark.

You can go back and heat up any areas that need to be darker.


STEP 4: BUILD THE BOX

This wood box is really easy to make because it’s all straight cuts. You just need a few simple tools. If you don’t want to make your own, you could probably find something similar at the craft store.

Cut your wood pieces down to size.  You’ll need the following

2- 5.5″ x 5.5″
2- 20″ x 5.5″
1-18.5″ x 5.5″

Add some wood glue along the bottom of the side piece.

Use a nail gun (or hammer and nails) to secure the side piece to the bottom of the box. Repeat with the other side.

Add wood glue to the bottom and sides of the box.

Place the front piece on top and nail into place.  Repeat with the back piece.

Brush on a light color of stain. I used weathered oak.  You don’t have to use this color, but you do need to use a light color so it doesn’t cover up the design.

Then, wipe the stain off. Finish staining the rest of the box.  Allow plenty of time for the box to dry.

STEP 5: FILL UP THE BOX

You can fill this box with a variety of different Christmas items.  Candles, mini Christmas trees, or fresh greenery would all look amazing.  I picked up some Christmas floral picks and ornaments from Dollar Tree to fill mine up.

 

 

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Want to make your own? Get the free cut file for this project in the resource library

 

 

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