This year has been like a big box full of surprises, although many of the surprises that have come with 2020 haven’t exactly been all too enjoyable! With the holiday season upon us, I thought I’d share a favourite DIY of mine and show you how to make your own surprise box, only this time, we are filling it to the brim with self care, love and positivity!

If you like to get creative and customize your gifts, then you’re going to love this DIY! I love its versatility and that it’s perfect whether you’ve been wondering what to give a loved one who’s had a challenging year, want to spoil a dear friend, or perhaps surprise someone with a random act of kindness.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Dremel Stylo
• Medium sized Wooden box
• White acrylic paint
• Sponge roller
• Pencil

To make your customized gift box or hamper box, you’ll need a few things. I’ve used a large wooden box with a slide out lid. It’s quite deep which means I will have lots of room to fit a range of items inside.

To customize my box, I’ve creating a special design on the lid. First, I gave the lid 2 coats of white acrylic paint and dried it with a hairdryer to speed up the process.

Next, you’ll want to use a pencil to sketch out your design. I created a mockup of my design online, so that I could refer back to it while I sketched it out on the lid. Then I also added a little message in the middle, which you can also customize.

Once I completed sketching out my design, I went over it with the Dremel Stylo and used one of the fine engraving attachments. I found that holding it just like you would hold a pencil, and doing little strokes like you’re sketching your drawing out was easiest, especially because I was working with small designs!

Now it’s time to put your hamper box together!

You might like to recreate this DIY to make a little Christmas Eve box, a self care box, pamper package or a random act of kindness and fill it with a few special items to brighten someone’s day. I personally love when someone goes to the extra effort of making me something, so I’m sure whoever you gift this to, will really appreciate it!

I filled my box with some stuffing first but you can use tissue paper, shredded paper, or cellophane. I sourced lots of pampering, feel-good items, including my favourite chocolates, tea, bath salts, and candles.

Then it’s time for the finishing touches! I love the addition of a handmade card and then scattered some dried flowers inside, before wrapping the box with some twine and an antique key I sourced online.

I’ve been spending a lot more time getting creative this year and I especially love how this DIY turned out after using the Dremel Stylo to make my own design! It’s been such a lovely craft-ernoon activity and I know it’s going to bring a big smile to someone’s face.

I hope you enjoy recreating this DIY for someone special. After all, the holiday season is all about coming together, and showing our appreciation and gratitude for all that we have and all the people in our life.

P.S You can watch the full process on my latest IGTV's. Follow me on Instagram @studywithjess to watch!

Happy holidays! 

Xo Jess