Thinking Outside the Box - Easel Top Matchbox

Welcome back to another TOTB Designer Team blog hop. . . it's so great to have you back, I was busy last month so missed our hop but I saw how incredible the projects were and got really inspired. So this month we are doing the Easel Top Matchbox off the page project!

You may be starting the hop with me or perhaps you have checked out Barb Stewart's amazing project this month - I love Barb's creativity it's always stunning!

This is my project:

I followed the basic principles in Anya's YouTube tutorial which gives a quick overview but of course I made the card and the box as 6"x 6"square.  The matchbox base is made with 12"x 12" Whisper White Card, Lined with Basic Black and matted with Smokey Slate Card. The drawer is Basic Black card lined with Smokey Slate card.

The easel card is standard, made using Smokey Slate, lined with Basic Black card and mounted with Silver Foil Card. The inside is lined with Basic Black and Whisper White card.

The match box is very simple and straight forward. First I made the drawer to be certain that the whole project could actually be 6" square. The square of Basic Black Card is 19cm square of 71/2" square. I scored the card on each side 2.22cm or 1" from the edge. I cut into the four corners to the 90 degree point and trimmed the edge so that it could be folded without problems and adhered with tear and tape.

The cover or outside of the drawer was equally as easy.

Literally the two scored lines closest to the centre of the card are scored at the 15.3cm or 6" mark and then the next line out was 2.2cm or 1" from the first score lines. You will appreciate that the sides of the card don't meet because it will need to be a lot longer than 30.6cm or 12". So I cut a faux base which is simply a 15.3cm or 6" square piece of Whisper White Card.

I folded the base card and adhered the faux base using tear and tape to keep it sturdy. The lined the base with a square of Basic Black and a square of Smokey Slate. The two exposed edges were also lined with the same matting.

The front of the drawers was lined in the same way but of course only with the Smokey Slate. I also stamped the liners for the drawer front and back with the filigree stamp from Timeless Textures in Smokey Slate ink.

The easel card itself is decorated using stamps from Angels on Earth, Post Script and Dandelion Wishes.

I love the Pressed Tin Dynamic Textured Embossing Folder and think it will be the all time favourite from the Holiday catalogue this year. I embossed the Silver Foil Card and daubered it roughly with Whisper White Craft ink to give it an oxidised look.

The next layer up is a square of Whisper White that I heat embossed with the diamonds design from the Gallery Grunge set in Silver. I then daubered the edges of that card with Smokey Slate ink. Next layer is a rectangle of Gold Glimmer Paperand a strip of Silver Glimmer Paper running at right angles.

The largest square of card under the image is Soft Suede. I stamped the corner filigree from Angels on Earth stamped in Soft Suede; you will see that the edges are daubered in Smokey Slate but it looks a bit like zinc - you can get this effect by putting Whisper White Craft ink on your dauber first then Smokey Slate ink next - it makes the colour more opaque. Layered on top of this is a piece of Chicken Wire Elements.

Next Smokey Slate rectangle stamped with the Post Script background stamp in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, edges daubered in Smokey Slate. I punched out some leaves in Vellum card stock using the Leaf Punch and poked them under the corners.

The angel is stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. I stamped it twice so I could cut out the wings and dimensionalise them. I coloured the wings slightly using Smokey Slate ink and Wink of Stella and then I used Wink of Stella and Gold embossing powder so to heat emboss the wings - I haven't heard of anyone doing that before me so its a new technique I think. I also coloured the angels hair and embossed it the same ways as the wings.

I coloured the gown in Cherry Cobbler ink and Wink of Stella and added a touch of Blushing Bride to the cheeks and collar bones using an aqua painter.

The timber element is from Frames Elements. I lay it on the Versamark ink pad then heat embossed it with Gold. The pearl jewels are to add a touch of luxe and contrast for the gold.

The easel card stays open using the word celebrate from the Celebrate You Thinlits in Silver Glimmer Paper. It's a neat way to keep the card opened.

You can see how well the wings are dimensionalised and how the project has a heap of layers. I have made it for my daughter who turns 14 in a couple of weeks time and I plan to put some Fenty makeup in the drawer along with some makeup brushes.

The knob on the front of the drawer is a silver rose from the Share What You Love Embellishment kit to marry in with all of the silver and also the antique feel of the project.

I hope that you have been inspired by all the incredible projects this month and that you give this unusual box card a try. Don't leave us just yet though as we have an amazing project from Yoshiko- she is so incredibly talented!

Thanks for popping by!
Shanni xx

October's Blog Hop Participants:

1. Shannean Moncrieff (Australia) 

2. Yoshiko Endo (Japan) 

3. Carrie Bates ( UK) 

4. Annette Elias (Netherlands) 

5. Dena Rekow (USA) 

6. Beate Wacker (Austria) 

7. Aude Barbara (France) 

8. Barb Stewart (Canada)