A Flocked Box for Your Valentine

Here's a great Valentine's Day gift for your sweetie. Decorate a box with soft flock.

A Flocked Box for Your Valentine

Create a Valentine's Day work of art with your kids by making this professional-looking flocked box to hold their jewelry or trinkets.

Seasonal Sense

Soft flock is a trademarked product that creates a velvety effect on projects. The kit, made by Plaid, contains a bottle of adhesive and a bottle of tiny fibers. You could use your own stencils and stencil brush (spouncer) to brush a pattern of adhesive onto your project. Then, use the bottle of fibers and spray them onto the adhesive by squeezing the bottle and releasing it, creating short blasts of fiber. Place the project on a box lined with waxed paper to collect (and reuse) any excess fibers. Do not move the project until it has dried at least an hour. Be careful using this product if you are allergic to fibers (a mask and protective eyewear are recommended).

Level: Moderately easy

Time involved: One to two hours, plus overnight to dry

Materials:

  • Newspaper or plastic
  • Heart-shaped cardboard box
  • White craft paint
  • Paintbrush
  • Shallow cardboard box lined with waxed paper
  • Valentine's Day stencils of choice
  • Masking tape
  • Spouncer
  • Red soft flock kit (Plaid makes this product, which contains adhesive and fibers and can be found in craft stores.)

  1. Cover your work area with newspapers or plastic. Paint the outside of the heart-shaped box and lid with white craft paint and allow it to dry.

  2. Place the heart-shaped box on the shallow box lined with waxed paper. Position the stencils in the middle of the lid of the heart-shaped box and tape them in place. Load a damp spouncer (stencil brush) with a liberal amount of adhesive. Holding it vertically, spounce (dab) the adhesive through the stencil.

  3. Immediately remove the stencil and apply the fibers. Hold the fiber bottle three to four inches from the stencil and squeeze short bouts of fibers onto the stencil with a continuous flow. Apply a liberal layer of fibers. Do not shake or tap the box; allow it to dry at least an hour before moving it. If desired, you can stencil the sides of the box with different stencils in the same manner.

  4. Allow the box to cure overnight before using it. You might want to flock the inside of the box by painting it with red craft paint first and allowing it to dry. Then, paint a layer of the adhesive onto the inside of the box. Apply the fibers to the adhesive as described in step 2 and allow this to dry.