St Patrick's Day Treasure Chest Tutuorial

We don't make a terribly big deal out of St. Patrick's Day over here. After all, we're not even Irish. BUT, I still like to do something to celebrate. I remember my mom telling me when I became a mom, that holidays are important for children, It helps them learn seasons, and understand calendars and passing time. And since we like to make learning EXCITING,  we have fun little traditions on holidays, even the "little" ones. 

Usually the boys wake up to find a trail of skittles or starburst candies that they follow and it leads outside where they then go on a treasure hunt to find CHOCOLATE GOLD COINS.  But this year I wanted to try something a little different.

I recently discovered this beauty in our garage, left over from one of the Hub's projects. It is FABULOUS! Besides the fact that it is GOLD, it goes on perfectly in just ONE COAT. There is something to be said for NOT BUYING the $1 spray paint. (Goodness knows that's what I usually do!) Having said that, you can buy the Rust-oleum brand at Walmart for $3.68. Not bad.

 After using my new found LIQUID GOLD for a home decor project I just wanted to coat EVERYTHING in gold. And that's where this idea came from.  So off to the DOLLAR STORE I went to collect some cheap trinkets to paint. I looked for things my BOYS would like. And yes, I know I just bought more clutter for my house. But I fully plan to have these toys around the house for about  a week until the kids forget about them, and then they are out of here. #momwin The point of the project wasn't to keep this stuff forever, but to make a normal day into something special, for them. 

Okay, these bad boys are pretty cute already.  

Hello BLING, BLING! This took just one coat per side.

  These make me so happy! I can't wait to see the kids faces in a few days when they find their treasure at the end of their Skittles trail. They might think their Mama's gone completely BONKERS, but let's be honest, they probably think that EVERYDAY.

 ROAR...

 FANCY-SCHMANCY!

HELLO TEXTURE.

And it's time for the finishing touches. I grabbed one of our DECORATIVE TREASURE BOXES that my husband picked up in China on a business trip. Don't worry, you can buy similar boxes at HOBBY LOBBY, but any container would do. Heck, you could spray paint a HAPPY MEAL BOX if you wanted. Then I added green tissue paper and loaded her up. I did throw in some CHOCOLATE too! My kids would really think I'd lost it if I didn't include CANDY. At some point they grow out of it, but right now a SPECIAL TREAT like candy seems to be the way to their tender hearts. And that's where I'm really going with all of this.

Happy St Patrick's Day!!

love,

Karin