To start us off, I have a Valentine Box made to share in my classes at Anna Griffin's CREATE V in Atlanta last fall. Everything except the actual box is from Anna's incredible product line, some from my saved stash and some still available on her corporate website - be sure to check it out - www.Annagriffin.com The box is Tim Holtz Idea-ology Configuration #TH93078 and measures 9"x 12" overall. The papers, cutting dies, gold paint, Dresden, embellishments, washi tape and ribbon are all Anna Griffin. It would probably take a book to go through each module piece by piece and I always suggest you add your own personal touches to any project - some basic steps and guidelines are outlined below, and pictures are worth a thousand words, enjoy ............
Here is the box front overall and close up of center embellishments. There is a "double" doily diecut in the background which was made cutting 2 pieces of the same paper with same die, then using a craft knife to trim straight at center and placing edge to edge creating illusion of one really big doily:
Here is the inside of the cover along with a close up of the decorative pocket which was again 2 of the same corner pocket die cut, overlapped and glued together to create a larger element - the cupid embellishment hides the overlap. NOTE - for extra strength, secure the pocket in place using a heavy duty double-sided tape (Scor or similar):
Here are some basic steps and guidelines:
STEP 1 - open and remove all the smaller inside boxes, then paint the outside "middle/book" of the box with Anna Griffin Metallic Gold acrylic paint (by Plaid), allow to dry.STEP 2 - measure, select and cut paper pieces for the front cover, inside cover, back and spine - save all smaller "scrap" pieces of paper for possible use on inside.
NOTE - RIBBONS - two 1" wide, 18" long pieces of light pink double-faced satin. It is important to secure the ribbons in place before gluing papers down. Measure and mark lightly with pencil the center of both inside cover and box front bottom, then glue one edge of ribbon in place - you may have to slightly pry open (with a dull kitchen knife) the bottom area to slip ribbon in, then glue it back together - you can see from the photo that the ribbon goes under the open box front. The inside front cover paper will cover the ribbon edge. Adhere papers using either Xyron, paper glue or your favorite method, be sure to smooth out all bubbles to flatten these larger areas.
STEP 3 - begin to decide what papers you want to go into the small inside boxes. I have found the best way to "cover" these is to FIRST cut a strip of paper that will fit onto the sides and overlap at least 1/4" into the bottom so another piece of paper can be cut to fit the bottom and cover the cut edges. Paper scraps are great for this part - NOTE - the paper strip does not overlap the top edge of the boxes, washi tape covers it. Cut and adhere (I used paper glue) all papers to insides only of all the small boxes - allow all to dry and/or rest. Don't forget to stop occasionally and take a breath, this is the most time consuming part of the project and I spent parts of several days so I wouldn't burn out - just saying!
STEP 4 - assemble and hot glue down the small boxes back into the larger base box.
STEP 5 - use washi tapes to cover and join the top edges of the boxes as well as the outside edges of the cover, back and spine as shown in the photos. NOTE - washi tapes sometimes lose their stickiness, however, you can apply glue or clear mediums with a brush underneath the tape and smooth into place so they will dry and adhere - IF they are still loose, reapply the medium and smooth back down, especially where they overlap and at corners. Allow to dry.
STEP 6 - here is the really fun part, loading up the small boxes with fussy cutting, parts and pieces of die cuts, Dresden bling and whatever your hearts desire. Mine include those from Anna's Valentine Stickers and Wedding Toppers as well as Favorite Flowers - you can always cut embellishments apart to fit - just have fun with it! Stack and use foam squares and/or dots to create different elevations. Here are close up photos overall and of each box:
The CENTER Cupid vignette is 2 layers of paper, top diecut is "elevated" by gluing sides into already covered box. Also note how cut pieces of Dresden gold have been added throughout:
