Sherlock Holmes Box!!
As if my obsession wasn't already glaringly obvious. Nevertheless, i decided to make it just a little more pronounced and spent my Saturday artsing. This is a basic decoupage technique, but instead of using tissue paper or wrapping paper like they teach in normal craft class, i print out my own pics and arrange them onto box forms (this one is a classic book box). This collage consists of the 2009 Sherlock Holmes movie, the original Paget illustrations, and various pictures/comics done by sadynax , who graciously gave me permission to use her amazing artwork.
Here's the spine and front cover. And here's the back.
As you can see, the spine is a tribute to the most popular/well-known reincarnations of Sherlock Holmes. RDJ/JL, Jeremy Brett/David Burke, JB/Edwarde Hardwicke, and Russian Vilanov/Solomin. Somehow wrangled all the Watsons to be on the left hand side and Holmes-es the right. The cover came out a little cluttered and i haven't really decided if i like the overall effect or not. *shrugs* Eh.
Normally my finished interiors look like this...or this, so i don't have to waste so much ink or work as hard...
BUT, for this particular project, i decided to do a fully decorated interior with Paget and sadynax illustrations.
And here's a few pics of the detailing done on the corners and edges...
Materials Required: Cardboard box, decoupage glue, decoupage finish or puzzle saver glue, glue stick, paint brushes, printer, paper, decorative wrapping paper, time
Skills Required: shit ton of patience, fairly good spacial reckoning, very little concern over price of printer ink
This is a super simple craft just about anyone can do and is relatively cheap (not counting the printer ink it requires). I mean, i've only had to replace my puzzle saver glue once over the course of twenty odd decoupage projects. Cardboard boxes run from $0.99-$5.00 at Walmart or any neighborhood crafts store (Michaels is the only place i know that carries the cardboard book box shape). With paint brushes you can choose to buy cheap/dispensable brushes or a fairly good one and just rewash it the way i do.
The thing about this project is time and patience. These book boxes can easily take 6-8 hours to do (including the prepwork of finding, sizing, printing, and cutting out the actual pictures). What takes up the most time is the detailing, covering up the edging and such, so simpler square/rectangle boxes with flat, attached lids take a lot less time. Also, you have to go and wash your hands constantly between gluing in order to avoid smudging or glue residue ending up ruining your pictures. Re-gluing is also typical and the collage arrangement is literally a 3-5 step process if you want it to come out perfectly.
I like doing these because the meticulousnous of the project suits me and they make great gifts! I hate just giving gift cards to my friends, so i usually make them a "Gratuitous Gift box" to show them how much i know them and care, then just stick a gift card or candy inside. Cool huh?
Feel free to ask questions on how to do it or ask for recommendations on materials. If someone happens to be interested in a commission, just know i typically don't do them. I will do it if it's a gift for someone, but because of the time consuming nature of the project (and because you can easily make one for your own bloody self), i only do the much simpler rectangle boxes with the flappable lids that doesn't require edging (i.e. not the cool book box ones).
Anyways, i hope you've all enjoyed looking at this box as much as i do. Cheers!
Here's the spine and front cover. And here's the back.
As you can see, the spine is a tribute to the most popular/well-known reincarnations of Sherlock Holmes. RDJ/JL, Jeremy Brett/David Burke, JB/Edwarde Hardwicke, and Russian Vilanov/Solomin. Somehow wrangled all the Watsons to be on the left hand side and Holmes-es the right. The cover came out a little cluttered and i haven't really decided if i like the overall effect or not. *shrugs* Eh.
Normally my finished interiors look like this...or this, so i don't have to waste so much ink or work as hard...
BUT, for this particular project, i decided to do a fully decorated interior with Paget and sadynax illustrations.
And here's a few pics of the detailing done on the corners and edges...
Materials Required: Cardboard box, decoupage glue, decoupage finish or puzzle saver glue, glue stick, paint brushes, printer, paper, decorative wrapping paper, time
Skills Required: shit ton of patience, fairly good spacial reckoning, very little concern over price of printer ink
This is a super simple craft just about anyone can do and is relatively cheap (not counting the printer ink it requires). I mean, i've only had to replace my puzzle saver glue once over the course of twenty odd decoupage projects. Cardboard boxes run from $0.99-$5.00 at Walmart or any neighborhood crafts store (Michaels is the only place i know that carries the cardboard book box shape). With paint brushes you can choose to buy cheap/dispensable brushes or a fairly good one and just rewash it the way i do.
The thing about this project is time and patience. These book boxes can easily take 6-8 hours to do (including the prepwork of finding, sizing, printing, and cutting out the actual pictures). What takes up the most time is the detailing, covering up the edging and such, so simpler square/rectangle boxes with flat, attached lids take a lot less time. Also, you have to go and wash your hands constantly between gluing in order to avoid smudging or glue residue ending up ruining your pictures. Re-gluing is also typical and the collage arrangement is literally a 3-5 step process if you want it to come out perfectly.
I like doing these because the meticulousnous of the project suits me and they make great gifts! I hate just giving gift cards to my friends, so i usually make them a "Gratuitous Gift box" to show them how much i know them and care, then just stick a gift card or candy inside. Cool huh?
Feel free to ask questions on how to do it or ask for recommendations on materials. If someone happens to be interested in a commission, just know i typically don't do them. I will do it if it's a gift for someone, but because of the time consuming nature of the project (and because you can easily make one for your own bloody self), i only do the much simpler rectangle boxes with the flappable lids that doesn't require edging (i.e. not the cool book box ones).
Anyways, i hope you've all enjoyed looking at this box as much as i do. Cheers!