For thousands of years, and in many cultures throughout the world, the dove has been a symbol of nurturing, self-sacrifice, peace, devotion and motherhood. These gentle birds are among the most maternal in the feathered kingdom, and are one of only a handful of birds that produce milk for their young.
What more fitting symbol to grace the top of a handmade Mother's Day Keepsake Box, and what better sweet treasure with which to fill it than DOVE® Dark Chocolate?
Chances are, your mom is probably already a fan of DOVE® Dark Chocolate, but do you know which of the four varieties is her favorite?
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Clockwise from top left: Silky Smooth Almond Dark
Chocolate, Silky Smooth Mint & Dark Chocolate Swirl, Silky Smooth
Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel, Silky Smooth Dark Chocolate. |
The silky-smooth taste of DOVE® Dark Chocolate is available in single bars, large bars, and bags of PROMISES®. The 8 - 9.5 ounce bags of PROMISES® are sold in stores all over the country and at $3.49 (suggested retail) are a real bargain.
This Mother's Day Gift idea is a pleasure to the eyes as well as the palette. The combination of the handmade Victorian-style keepsake box and DOVE® Dark Chocolate makes for a one-of-a-kind gift that is unique and as special as your mom.
Mother's Day Keepsake Dove Box
(makes one box)
- 1 4" Paper Mache Lidded Box (found in most craft stores)
- 1 8.5" x 11" piece of heavy chipboard
- Sharp craft scissors or craft knife for cutting the chipboard
- Heavy-duty pinking shears or decorative scissors
- White or ivory acrylic paint
- Hot Glue
- Tacky Glue
- Fine Silver Glitter (I like the look of German Glass Glitter)
- Hot Glue Gun
- Small Craft Nest or Grapevine wreath
- Small faux eggs
- 1 sheet decorate scrapbook paper
- Spray adhesive
- 1 decorative dove
- DOVE® PROMISES®
Optional items
- Mod Podge
- Spray sealer or high gloss glaze
- Small millinery flowers
- Ribbon or pearl trim
- Watercolor (for adding color to the birds)
Step 1: Use a small plate or compass to trace two 6" circles on the chipboard. Use heavy-duty scissors or a craft knife to cut out the two circles.
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In
this photo, you can see that I deckled the edges in advance. I found,
however, that it's better to reserve this step until after the boxes are
painted. |
Step 2: Using spray adhesive, glue a chipboard circle, centered, on the top of the box (lid) and the bottom. Paint all surfaces of the boxes, inside and out. Set aside to dry.
Step 3: When the paint has dried completely, Use pinking shears to trim the chipboard circles to create a 1/4" border.
Step 4: Cut a band of scrapbook paper to wrap around the body of the box. It should be approx. 2" tall, so that it stops just before the 3/4" needed for the lid. Most pieces of scrapbook paper aren't long enough to go around the box completely, so it's likely that you'll need to cut an extra piece. Adhere by spraying the back with spray adhesive and carefully wrapping around the box. Smooth out any air bubbles. At this point, you may want to spray the box with an acrylic sealer or glaze. You can also use Mod Podge.
Step 5: To glitter the band on the lid, use a paintbrush to liberally coat the band with Tacky Glue. Then shake on the glitter. Tap off excess. At this point you may want to spray the lid and glittered band with an acrylic sealer or glaze. This will help preserve the glitter and give the box a more finished look.
Step 6: Time to embellish -- Use hot glue to adhere the nest to the lid. Glue in the dove, the eggs, and any other adornments you wish. For the Happy Mother's Day banner, I used the Kunstler Script font in Microsoft Word (20 pt) and printed it on a natural fiber sheet of paper. At this point, you can also add trim to the body of the box. Just remember to keep it below the lid line.
Note: My craft store was out of small nests, so I
picked up the smallest size of grapevine wreaths for 99-cents instead.
To fill the gap, I used a little bit of coconut potting material.
Step 7: Fill box with some paper shred to create an interior nest to hold all of the DOVE® PROMISES®. Fill with your mom's favorite -- or give her an assortment so she can discover a new one.
TIP: If you'd like to add a blush of color to your dove, use a soft brush and heavily diluted water color to gently paint some color on to the head and breast of the dove. Dab away excess color with a paper towel. If color is too dark, you can dilute with a brush dipped in plain water.
Which variety of DOVE® Dark Chocolate is the best match for your mom?