Samantha’s Trinket Box
Thank you for joining us for our program today. We are so happy that you are here!
For today’s program, we will be making a Trinket Box, a craft brought to us by one of American Girl’s first characters, Samantha. Samantha’s story takes place in 1904 in Mount Bedford, New York .
Today’s craft can be found in Samantha’s Craft Book: A Look at Crafts from the Past with Projects You Can Make Today. The following directions make one box. We hope you enjoy Samantha’s Trinket Box.
Materials
Sandpaper
Unfinished wooden box with lid, 3 by 4 inches
2 foam paintbrushes, each 1 inch wide
Acrylic paint, any color
Scissors
Old magazines or greeting cards
White glue
Small bowl
Directions
Lightly sand the wooden box and lid. Wipe away the dust. Use 1 of the foam paintbrushes to paint the box and lid inside and out.
Set both the box and the lid aside to dry. Keep the lid off the off the box. You’ll need to keep them separate until the very end of this project.
Cut out small pictures from old magazines and greeting cards. Make sure your pictures are small enough to fit on the box or its lid.
When you have cut enough pictures, think about how you’d like to arrange them. For example, you might want to put your favorite picture in the center of the lid.
After you have planned your design, start gluing the pictures to the lid and sides of the box. Make sure the pictures are glued on completely, with no edges curling up.
If any of the pictures stick out past the edges of the box or lid, trim them to fit.
Squeeze glue into the small bowl until it is about 1/4 inch deep. Dip the other foam paintbrush into the glue.
Lightly brush a thin layer of the glue over the lid and sides of the box. The glue will look milky at first, but it will dry clear. If the glue gets too thick, add a little water to thin it.
Let the glue dry for about 15 minutes. Then give the box and lid another coat of glue.
When the glue is dry, your box is finished! Fill it with hair ribbons, jewelry, or other small trinkets.
Did You Know: In Samantha’s time, “scraps” didn’t mean “leftovers.” It meant small pictures printed on sheets of paper. Girls and women cut out the pictures and pasted them into scrapbooks or onto boxes, vases, or furniture. They traded scrapes with their friends, too!
Photo of Samantha’s Trinket Box | 1994 | American Girl, LLC., U.S.