Bees, Please!  Altered Bee Box with Step Out Tutorial for Canvas Corp Brands

Hello, Friends!  What do gardeners do during the long cold winter months?  They pore over seed catalogs, plan their gardens and dream of spring’s arrival, that’s what!  And sometimes, they go to the thrift store, where they find cast off Christmas decor that can be transformed into something wonderful with just a pinch of imagination and some fabby art supplies.  And though I don’t really fancy myself a gardener, my dear husband and I are talking seriously about starting an organic garden this spring.  So to get myself mentally ready to take on the task, I created this altered bee box using beautiful paints, papers, and textiles from Canvas Corp Brands.

Isn’t it just totally adorable?  But I want to show you what it looked like when I found it at my local Goodwill Thrift Store.

Not so fabby, very shabby (but not chic) and kind of sad.  But the Gypsy Soul in me saw that with a little work, it could make a super cute piece of home decor for our screen porch, and maybe inspire me to get out and dig in the dirt.

That’s much better, isn’t it?  You may not know this, but Canvas Corp Brands has lovely DIY paint that is perfect for this type of rehab project.  I am not a fan of sanding down wood.  So I like to work with a paint that will cover up an ugly base. Although the DIY paint comes in a rainbow of colors, I wanted to stick with a yellow and black color palette to go with my bee theme, so I chose to work with DIY Ebony.

After using a screwdriver to remove Santa’s nose, I painted the box base and drawer front with DIY Ebony paint.  It did take 2 coats, but you can see how nice and smooth it went on.

Next, I measured the length and width of the little drawer and cut a strip of this French Script Printed Burlap to size.  I cut a slightly smaller strip of Watering Can Critters and Crawlers on kraft cardstock and stitched it onto the burlap, fraying the edges.  (By the way, Canvas Corp provides a Mix and Match pad of Watering Can goodies and I think it is slightly cheaper than ordering each part separately.)  And yes, you are correct: I DID change this button and knob out for a cuter drawer pull.  Good eye!

Next, I measured the garden “bench” area and cut a strip of Yellow and Ivory French Linen Stripe Cardstock to fit. (A little later in the process, I blotched this with black paint, and decided to re-cover it with Yellow and Ivory Ribbon Stripe Cardstock, and I ended up liking this look much better.)  I also measured the inside dimensions of the bee box back and lined it with more Watering Can paper.  This is already a huge improvement from the original box!

Next, I lay the box on its side and traced around the edge pieces onto scrap paper to create a template.  I fit them into the sides and made adjustments as necessary. Once I was satisfied with the way they fit, I traced the templates onto more of the Yellow and Ivory Ribbon Stripe paper and used these pieces to line the sides of the box. Doing this can prevent wasting your pretty designer paper.  I decided I liked the top of the box better with just paint, so I ended up not using the piece for the top.

Once my pieces were glued into place, I dry brushed some DIY Crystal Paint over the edges of my altered bee box.  This paint is really thick and creamy, so I watered it down a good bit, then dipped the tip of an old, stiff paint brush into the puddle and brushed most of the paint off onto my craft sheet before applying it to the box.  Next, I did grab a piece of fine grit sandpaper to distress the box a little so it didn’t look so “new.”  I love how this part turned out.

Next, I added a little banner to the top using scrap pieces of green and yellow paper.  The pennants were strung on natural jute cording that I braided together and held in place with some fancy thumb tacks that I found in my stash.  This is where I decided to turn the drawer into a flower planter and ideas began to bloom right and left.  I removed the button from the front of the drawer, replacing it with a miniature garden spade that I found in my stash.  The drawer was hot glued into an open position, and filled with Spanish moss, flowers, Prima resin pieces and another darling sign from The Watering Can collection.  Here are some photos for you to enjoy.

Making this altered bee box was the perfect remedy for the post holiday blahs!  Now I just need to get out my seed catalog and start planning my garden!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy