Make A Decoupaged Keepsake Box

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Wooden keepsake box decoupaged with a vintage Paris map in muted pink, cream, and blue, resting on stacked books beside small gold scissors.

Create a decoupaged keepsake box for travel memories and collected mementos using an unfinished wooden box, Mod Podge, and papers you love. Cover it with a favorite map, or overlap pieces of ephemera and paper scraps to create a collage. It’s an easy way to make a personal home for photos, postcards, and small treasures.

Supplies

  • A wooden box
  • Paper pieces, ephemera or a paper map (here’s a link to the map of Paris used in this tutorial)
  • Mod Podge
  • Large and small paintbrushes
  • Scissors
  • A ruler
  • A pencil
  • A precision knife (X-Acto knife)
  • A squeegee (an old credit card will work too)
  • Polyurethane (optional)

How to Make a Decoupaged Keepsake Box – 5 Easy Steps

STEP 1:

Cut paper pieces slightly larger than the panel you’re working on, and coat your box thoroughly with Mod Podge from edge to edge before applying them.

Shown is a wood box with the top coated completely with Mod Podge and a piece of a Paris map cut to size ready to be applied.

STEP 2:

Use a squeegee to smooth any bubbles and adhere the paper map to your box. Work from the center out.

Using a squeegee to smooth out bubbles after using Mod Podge and a paper map panel to the top of a wood box.

STEP 3:

Trim away any excess paper overhanging the edges with an X-Acto or precision knife.

Tip: To make things easier, turn your box upside down and use it as a straight edge when trimming.

Photo of the box flipped over and used as a straight edge to cut away excess paper map that is overhanging the edge of the box.

STEP 4:

Finish all of the sides.

Photo of one of the edges being finished by decoupaging the map to the side of the lid. Below your can see the tools used in this projects, scissors, a ruler, a pencil and an X-Acto knife.

STEP 5:

Give your box a top coat of polyurethane or coat the entire box with a thin layer of Mod Podge to protect the art!

As a recommended last step, coat your finished decoupaged box with General Finished top coat. Here I'm using Flat, or use any polyurethane. You could also coat the art with a thin layer of Mod Podge.
DIY decoupaged wooden keepsake box covered in a vintage Paris map, displayed on stacked books with antique scissors and sewing notions. Text reads “DIY Decoupaged Keepsake Box — Made with Maps or Ephemera.”

Looking for more Paris craft ideas? Explore these lovely Paris-inspired projects here.

Star divider used has two hand drawn lines with a star in the center, used as a content break and signals new or different content below. This doodle style illustration is in a medium charcoal gray.

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