Decor DIY: Malachite Box

I have always loved malachite, the swirling green stone has just always caught my attention! My recent obsession with interior decor (despite my lack of interior to decorate) lead me to discovering malachite is being used abundantly in decor these days. This is certainly a trend I can get behind! I instantly loved this tutorial from Little Green Notebook where she created a malachite inspired desk, and decided I needed a bit of malachite for myself. I decided to make a "malachite" box to keep a few of my hair combs in, as I am always looking for storage solutions to make storing the delicate combs a bit safer and nicer.

After a quick trip to the craft store, and a raid through my studio, I had collected the necessary supplies:

-One lightweight wood box with hinge

-Acrylic craft paint in gold, light green, seafoam green, and dark (malachite) green

-Various paint brushes, including in particularly old beat up one with mangled bristles (you'll need one of these or a fan brush to get the malachite look)

-A can of clear spray shiny sealer/topcoat (I cannot recommend the one I used as it was annoyingly patchy)

-A few green markers (I had my prismacolors laying around)

-Faux velvet scrapbooking paper (for lining the box)

-Glue (I used some simple Elmer's)

Begin by painting the box a mix of the light green and seafoam colors, I just swirled them around a bit freehand and the colors mostly blended but left a little variation.

Then after the now green box dries, take your raggedy old brush in hand and practice a few swirls on paper to see if it is creating the proper striated malachite look. Remember that you will not need much paint on the end of the brush and that this doesn't have to look perfect! Some natural breaks and flaws in the swirls will only look more like the real stone. Once you are satisfied with your technique move onto the box!

Truth be told I too should have used a more ragged brush, my swirls turned out a bit uniform.

I decided to go over a few areas with some of the seafoam color once the box had dried.

Then, once the box had dried yet again, I added even more definition with a dark green marker, following the swirl patterns and continuing them down over the sides of the box.

Next I painted the inside lip and inside of the box metallic gold, being careful not to get gold paint on the outside.

Cut your velvet scrap-booking paper to size and then glue it down inside to the bottom and the lid of the case.

Take that beautiful box outside and spray it to death with shine coat, the more lacquered the look, the better I think.

When its finally dry again you are done! You are now the proud owner of a malachite box at a fraction of what a real one would cost you! I still want a few real ones one day. I just love malachite I tell you!

I think I would change some of my technique if I made another malachite DIY. Firstly I would use a gloss paint for the light green under-layer, as I think the dark green swirls would have come out more defined if the box wasn't still matte and soaking up the paint. I would also find a better spray sealer or find a brush on one so I could control the finish a bit more. Overall though, I am really happy with my little box! There are a dozen or more Malachite DIY tutorials online with different techniques for achieving this look and I can highly suggest looking through them on pinterest to figure out which technique sounds easiest to you and would be best for your application. I know when I move out I definitely want to try my hand at a desk or a few side tables with this same idea. Apparently I will have a lot of green in my future abode!