Wish Keeper

Happy New Year everyone!
This is Ann, here today to share my very first post for the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog with you.

Each year as my children grow older I notice that the innocence and dreams of childhood become more and more distant. In an effort to find a special place to tuck away these hopes and dreams, or "wishes" as I like to call them, before they blow away in the wind, I created a "Wish Keeper" box for my daughter to store her precious thoughts. 

I started with the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts ATC Sized Faux Book Box (BD12T), and searched my Tim Holtz paper stash for the perfect papers to complement my vision. The  book box arrives flat, so I laid out all the pieces and temporarily created the box portion to get an idea for paper sizes and orientation.

Once I selected the papers to use, I went ahead and adhered the floral paper to the base so that I could locate the main design within the interior of the box. I used my exacto knife to cut out the areas where the sides fit into the base so that they would insert freely. I then glued the sides of the box into place on top of the covered base.

I adhered an Idea-ology design tape along the top edges of the box sides, cutting into the corners so that it would wrap around the edges and lay flat.

I then selected a coordinating piece of solid Distress Cardstock and cut a long strip the height of the interior "walls." I cut this strip into the exact lengths for each side of the box interior. Using distress ink in walnut stain, I inked around all of the edges and let dry before gluing these pieces onto the interior box "walls."

 

I then cut another long strip of the solid cardstock, the same height, for the outside of the box "walls" and inked the edges along the top and bottom. I left this piece as a strip and fitted it around the outside of the box, creasing it at each corner. Once wrapped, my strip did not meet end to end, and therefore, had a slight gap. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to use some more of the decorative tape.

While I set the entire base aside to dry, I began to plan out the cover. I love the look of frozen charlottes, they are so reminiscent of childhood days gone by, and wanted to incorporate this into the design. Using a Tim Holtz Idea-ology Salvaged Doll, I dabbed mushroom alcohol ink on it to give it an overall aged look, then colored her dress and other details with Copic markers. I embossed a pair of wings from the Gypsy Soul Laser Cut Steampunk Shape Set (D33A) with Emerald Creek's Charred Gold embossing powder on both sides.

These wings were then wired onto the doll body with bronze jewelry wire. I created a large paper rosette with a die and added details on the rosette with Stickles. When the details were dry, I used a hot glue gun to adhere the winged, salvaged doll onto the rosette and set it aside.

Using a Sizzix die, I cut the word WISHES three times from thin chipboard. I layered these on top of each other for dimension and then heat embossed the word with the same Charred Gold embossing powder I used on the GSLC wings. I selected a piece of patterned paper and cut strips of the floral base image to incorporate on the cover.

Now it was time to begin working on the spine, and hinging the book base and cover so that it could all be put together. I used masking tape to create the hinge where the front and back covers meet the spine. The outside taped edges will be covered with paper. On the interior, when the book is open, the hinge gaps can be seen. I covered these gaps with more of the decorative tape. I like the way that this tied all of the areas together in a subtle way. 

 

I measured and cut pieces of the solid cardstock to cover the inside face of the spine as well as the inside face of the cover. These pieces were inked along the edges and adhered with glue. 

I decided that I wanted to be able to latch the wish box to keep the wishes secure inside. Without getting into adding chunky hardware, I thought a great way to keep the box closed would be with a piece of ribbon. I tied the ribbon around the box before adhering the exterior coverings, thus concealing it, as well as ensuring that it will remain intact.

I wanted the spine to give a glimpse of what was to come inside, so I cut a piece of the floral pattern 1/2" wider than the spine chipboard piece itself. This will allow it to cover the hinge area on each side. I scored the piece at each extension so that it could easily bend when the book box was opened and closed. I glued this piece to the flat plane of the spine and let it dry. You will notice that the ribbon closure is in place prior to adhering the spine cover, hiding it and securing it in place. 

I found an interesting piece of cardstock that contained a vintage image I thought would be perfect for the bottom of the base. I cut the piece 1/8" wider than the base piece to allow overlap onto the spine hinge area. I inked the edges of the piece and adhered it to the bottom. I placed a heavy weight along the spine and base hinge line, making sure that the seam was completely flat. I allowed this to dry completely before continuing. 

Similar to the bottom, I cut the Top cover piece wider than  the measured laser cut so that it would overlap my spine/hinge paper. I inked the edges and glued the soil cardstock to the laser cut, concealing the ribbon closure and creating a flat seam along the hinge. Using an embossing ink dabber, I ran it along the edges of base and dipped them into charred gold powder and heat embossed. I did this for each edge of the book.

 Once the embossing was cool, I adhered the final layer of details onto the cover. 

The "Wish Keeper" has harnessed her wings and is ready to soar to any of the places the heart desires when reminiscing through hopes and dreams once tucked away.

Wishing you a year filled with promise! 

~ Ann

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Products used:

ATC Sized Faux Book Box

Steampunk Shape Set