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History of how the Treasure Boxes started : A few years ago as I was approaching retirement age. I thought about how wonderful it would be to leave some kind of art legacy. One that could be shared with the other artists or future ones to come and at the same time have a worthy benefit to it. This is when I came up with the idea of painting "Treasure boxes" for sick children. Having been a nurse, I remember all too well how much it means to terminally ill and long term care children in hospitals, to be given some little extra TLC (tender loving care) during a scary and stressful time in their young lives. So the idea was born to paint a box for a child to have for their very own to hold their keepsakes at their bedside. In checking out the resources on traditional treasure boxes used for the past century by kids, I discovered it had been a shoe box. As it turns out, it is the perfect shape to fit into a hospital nightstand, and they can be painted up like all other paper mache boxes. However, I did find that after painting all the empty shoe boxes I could find, I did have to purchase boxes of about the same size. All craft stores carry keepsake/photo boxes which are the same size and shape as the standard shoe box (11 x 7 inches and about 4 inches deep). Purpose of painting the Boxes: I have made it my goal for 2006 to paint as many "Treasure Boxes" as I can and try to get others involved into making this into a legacy that the decorative painting field can give to sick children around the world. I can't even begin to explain in words of how it feels to have a lump in your throat and a warm feeling in your heart knowing it brings such joy and a big smile to each child when they get their very own "Treasure Box". Won't you please join me in painting a "Treasure Box" to bring a smile to a sick child. It is such a worthy cause. Information you need to know : 1 - You or any group, chapter or club, can do them. The box needs to be a shoe box or one close in size and shape (11 x 7 inches and about 4 inches deep). Hobby Lobby, AC Moore and Michael's all carry a keepsake photo box that is the perfect size and shape. The cost is about $3.99 each. The nice thing about them is that you do not have to prep the boxes as they come in cheerful colors. Only the lid has to be painted on, so in the long run they are a time saver to use. 2 - Keep in mind the designs are for children between the ages of 5 and 17 years of age. Children are most forgiving of the quality of the painting level, which means most anyone can paint the boxes, regardless of their painting skills. do keep in mind that children respond best to bright and cheerful colors, so when selecting colors try to remember this. 3 - Once the box(es) are painted they do need to be sealed with a clear finish to protect the design surface. so be sure to allow enough time for the sealer to dry completely before mailing them or taking them to the hospitals. They will stick together otherwise. 4 - Any design can be painted on them. It doesn't have to be your own original design, there are a few exceptions however: You can NOT use any copyrighted or trademarked figure such as Sponge Bob Square Pants, Superman, Walt Disney characters, etc. Also, I would suggest not doing angels or toddler designs. Flowers are nice, but don't think they are what a child wants, unless you are doing them in a style that a teenage girl might like. 5 - Hospital contact - how to handle this:
Special Designs being offered : There will also be a free design that can be downloaded for those who are going to paint the " Treasure Boxes ". This is not the "Free Design of the Month " , they will be done just for this program, found only in this section of the web site. The plan at present is to change this design every so often, so a variety of them can be obtained throughout the year. It will not mean a new one each month, but the same one will not be here for a long time either. So it will require your coming back to check on. Besides, you will want to do that anyway to check out additional information as this program develops along. Other artists are also going to be offering designs that can be downloaded from their sites for this program. I will provide the links to their web site on the depot page in this section. I have also produced a special CD that has designs that can be used for the " Treasure Boxes " , since many have requested one to be done to help them with designs for boys and teenagers. However, you do NOT have to buy it or any of my designs to paint the boxes. Please Note : This program is not meant to be a sales pitch of my designs, nor is it a program to take away from the many who already paint memory boxes. The sole purpose of this program is to share a little bit of your TLC by painting up a box to put a smile on a sick child's face.
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