Cereal Box Christmas Art

I love being resourceful...recycling, using what I can from nature in my art - so how about making art out of cereal boxes?  That's right...cereal boxes :)  The cardboard that the boxes are made out of are very sturdy and make the perfect little canvases to create on!

(Also, this is a GREAT activity to do with the kiddos - let them cut up their cereal boxes and pick what size they want to create on)

Find an empty cereal box (or just wait until one is empty :) )

Cut the sides down and flatten the box

Cut up the sides and flaps - we are going to use a bigger piece for this project but will use smaller pieces for my next blog post

Bigger piece - don't worry about any rips or tears.  That will add to the charm.

Mod Podge the entire piece - get a good layer on

Now layer different pieces of paper on the cardboard - again, it does not have to be perfect.  Rip and tear away to ensure the piece fit :)

GESSO!!  If you aren't familiar with this medium, its like a thick, white, flat paint.  It prepares your surfaces for painting, sketching, etc.

Gesso...

Washi tape!  Japanese tape that comes in all sorts of designs, colors - LOVE this stuff - adds so much to your artwork!

After adding tape all around the perimeter of the piece...

Time to add color to the background - use whatever color you like.  I have chosen a golden straw, turquoise, and a brown stain...

Next...stencils...use whatever stencil you like for your background - I am choosing just one - this circle stencil will look like stars in the background

Purple stars :)

I decided to stick with the 'circle' theme here and created my Christmas tree out of swirls and circles :)

So yet another technique - with stencils :)  Grabbed my snowflake stencils (love)

Grabbed my modeling paste - 

Slather the past on top of the stencil on your piece

GORGEOUS right?!?

Added more snowflakes and some paste snow to the bottom of my piece

For the ornaments I have some wooden circles that I painted, stamped and put word stickers on

Seriously...this started out as a piece of a cereal box :)  How fun right?!?

Stay tuned for my next blog post and how to make cereal box ornaments :)  Love this stuff!!