diy: secret agent box

the dude has been playing 'secret agent' a lot with the kids next door. he gets his watch, his walkie talkies, some handcuffs & his glasses & stays outside until the sun goes down. so when i thought about doing something for him for valentine's day, i knew i wanted it to be something he would really enjoy... & he loves nothing more than little boxes & buckets to collect stuff in & tote it around.

( i think all little boys are like that.)

anyways.. here is what i came up with. the kid version of a secret agent's briefcase, attache, or whatever it is spies carry their secret stuff  around in :)

secret agent box

supplies:

-wooden or metal box with handle (mine is from joanns)

-paper

- colored masking tape (not pictured)

-mod podge

-paint brush

-alphabet stickers

-paper trimmer

-measuring tape

1. measure around your box to determine the length of paper needed to cover.

2. measure the height of your box to determine the width your paper should be. i measured from underneath the closure so that i wouldn't have to cut a notch out of my paper. (i'm kinda lazy like that)

3. trim your paper. my box was 21 1/2" inches around & 3 1/2" inches high. i cut my 12x12 sheet of scrapbook paper into (2) 3" strips.

4. starting on the BACK of your box, lay a coat of mod podge down as wide as your strip. (for my box it was about 3" inches, i just eyeballed it) i had to work with two pieces, so i put the back one on first. i put mod podge on the back, and half way around the sides.

5. working quickly, center your strip of paper to the back of the box, and place it down. work from the middle out on each side to ensure full contact & placement.

6. flip your box over, and layer a coat of mod podge down, again going as wide as your strip. this time gluing down your ends from the back strip, and then layering mod podge over the back strip about an inch on each side. (this may vary given the box you choose to work with) once glue is down, work in the same fashion you did on the back to place your front piece down. (start at the middle, work towards the sides)

7. whether it was poor placement, or the curve of the box, or my inaccurate cutting, i ended up with strips that didn't match up. so i decided to put some trim at the top & bottom of the paper. i went with colored masking tape made for scrapbooking. i just wrapped it around & tore it off so the seam was at the back. (much cleaner & more interesting, no?) 

8. because it is intended for actual play, i layered a heavy coat of mod podge over the entire thing.

9. what's a secret agent with out a code name? i went back & forth between a few before i settled on going 'men in black' style & naming him 'agent m'. i put a piece of tape on the top of the box & then used some alphabet stickers to spell out his code name. (*tip: for letter placement & to determine how big of a piece of tape i needed i first put my letters on a ruler before adhering them to the box.)

10. once the name was in place i mod podged over the top of it as well.

11. let dry & fill with secret agent goodies.

a small cap gun, a suspect sketch kit (fuzzy face), a top secret notebook, a set of 'special' handcuffs (chinese finger trap), a cell phone, a footprint molding kit (silly putty) a finger print kit (cards not pictured), evidence bags (not pictured)

for the finger print ink i found a black-ish water based ink pad on clearance at micheals, wrote 'finger print ink' & put two fingerprints on an avery office label & stuck it on top. (also added a rubber band around it so that it would stay closed inside the box)



i found this notebook in the dollar bins @ michaels as well, added 'top secret' in stickers to the top & it was all set for his secret agent box.

add a tag to the handle & you are all set to surprise your little guy with a tailor made gift.

i made him one few years ago when he was into toting his little cars & trucks around. it's a little different, but it's held up pretty good & he still uses it 4 years later. he was tucking rocks & acorns into it during our walk today.. (it's a good gift. i promise!)



proof that sometimes.. little boy stuff can be fun too :)

xo-k

linking up to:

diy project parade

just something i whipped up

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