Trinket Box with Flat Top
Club MED Prop Swap at 2009 June TAC Seminar
by KellyRae Cooper

Click here to download a picture tutorial in PDF format
Click here to download the tutorial (without pictures) in PDF format

About 7 years ago I took an all-day class to learn how to create an 8-sided box made from 4-inch circles. (And it did take ALL day…lol.) The original instructions were published in the October 2001 issue of Stamping Arts & Crafts magazine (Geisha Trinket Box by Melissa Hatalsky). Trinket box is the search term that can be used on yahoo and splitcoast to discover several beautiful examples (especially by Kelli Purkey of renowned Stampin’ Up! fame).

SUPPLIED NEEDED:

• Cardstock
• Coordinating patterned paper
• Textweight copy paper
• ScorPal (or other scoring tool)
• Coordinating ribbon (for pull tab on front of box)
• Basic Gray magnetic snaps (I used one set of the small ones)
• Pop dots (used under lid’s magnetic snap to make sure it matches up correctly with base magnetic snap)
• Chipboard (or empty cereal boxes)
• Adhesive (my personal choice was red tape, however YES! Glue and Zip-Dry Adhesive will work as well)
• 8 wooden dollhead beads (3/4-inch in diameter), spray painted gold (used as the box feet)
• E-6000 adhesive to adhere the bead feet to the box bottom
• 3-inch piece of ribbon (to be used as lid tab)
• Scallop circle punch (I used the pink Mega Scallop Circle punch)

My instructions are an adaption of the original. I did not create a domed top, mine is flat with an embellished top and scalloped circle sides. (Okay, I admit, I did TRY to create the domed top, but after 3 failed attempts, I was running out of matching cardstock and patterned papers.)

Also, even though I stayed with the 4-inch circles, any size circle may be used by following the instructions for creating the square template.

DIRECTIONS FOR BOX BASE:
• Reserve sheet of cardstock for box base (outside bottom)
• Reserve sheet of patterned paper for box base (inside bottom)
• Reserve sheet of chipboard for box base (to be sandwiched between patterned paper and cardstock)
• Cut 8 (4-inch) circles out of cardstock; cut 1 (4-inch) circle out of textweight copy paper
• Fold copy paper circle in half, then in half again.
• Open folded circle and make a dot on the edge of the circle where each fold line ends.
• Connect the dots to create a square; cut out the square.
• To make a sturdier template, place the square on a piece of chipboard and trace; cut out the square just inside the lines.
• To mark the cardstock circles, place the chipboard square on the cardstock circle and mark the 4 points where the edges of the square intersect the edges of the circle.
• Use the ScorPal to score the marked square on each circle; repeat until all 8 cardstock circles have been scored.
• Identify one square as the front of the box and adhere one half of the Basic Gray magnetic snap about ¾ to 1 inch from the top (use a scored scallop circle from the ‘directions for box top’ as a guide for placement); then add minimal layers on top of this square
• Before adhering squares together, embellish and/or layer remaining squares as desired.
• Use adhesive of choice to adhere the side flaps of the scored circles in a continuous loop; do not adhere the top or bottom flaps.
• Place the box base onto chipboard; then use scrap pieces of chipboard inside the box base to maintain the 8-sided shape.
• Trace the 8-sided shape onto the chipboard; cut out the 8-sided shape just inside the lines; reserve as the box template.
• Use the box template to trace the 8-sided shape 3 times: cardstock (for the bottom of the box), patterned paper (for the inside of the box), chipboard (to be sandwiched between for stability); always cut just inside the lines.
• Before placing the 8-sided bottoms into the open box, place each one on top of the open box and decide how to best ‘position’ the bottom to match up the sides. Once the best ‘position’ is identified, place a pencil arrow on the open box top flap and then on each of the bottoms at that location (makes it a LOT easier to remember how they fit…believe me)
• Adhere the patterned paper bottom to the chipboard bottom, matching up arrows; gently insert into the open box, matching up arrows.
• Flip open box over, place adhesive on the edges of the cardstock bottom and adhere to chipboard bottom, matching up arrows and sandwiching the bottom circle flaps between the layers.
• Using E-6000 adhesive, adhere the gold beads as feet at the points of the 8 sides; let dry 15-20 minutes.

DIRECTIONS FOR BOX TOP
• Reserve 2 sheets of cardstock for box top (outside and inside top)
• Reserve sheet of chipboard for box top (to be sandwiched between cardstock lids)
• Use the box template to trace the 8-sided shape 3 times: twice onto cardstock (for the top and bottom of the lid), once onto chipboard (to be sandwiched between for stability); always cut just inside the lines.
• Before adhering the lid pieces together, place each one on top of the open box and decide how to best ‘position’ the lid pieces to match up the sides. (Use the pencil arrow on the open box top flap as a guide for the BACK of the box). Once the best ‘position’ is identified, place a pencil arrow on each lid piece (makes it a LOT easier to remember how they fit…believe me)
• Adhere the bottom cardstock lid to the bottom of the chipboard lid.
• Cut a scrap piece of cardstock 5 inches tall by an 1/8-inch less wide as the square of the BACK of the box (in my sample my piece was 5 inches tall by 2 5/8-inches because my square was 2 3/4-inches wide); score as tall as the BACK of the box (so in my sample, I scored at 2 3/4-inches).
• TO CREATE THE CONNECTED BACK FLAP: Adhere the scrap piece of cardstock to the inside of the BACK of the box; fold back several times to make sure it works with the round flap – then adhere the top part of scrap piece to the top of the chipboard lid (remember, the bottom of the chipboard lid has cardstock on it now) and the back round flap from the box bottom to the chipboard lid top (when the lid is opened, all that should be seen is the cardstock lid bottom, not any part of the scrap cardstock or the back round flap)
• Adhere small piece of ribbon to the chipboard lid at the front edge of the box (opposite the penciled arrow mark), then adhere the remaining cardstock lid on top of the chipboard lid. (Do not be alarmed if the lid doesn’t match the bottom exactly…that’s what the next steps are for…lol)
• Use the scallop circle punch to punch out 8 circles (coordinating or matching patterns, your choice); use the ScorPal to score each circle slightly less than half, but between two dips, not on a scallop.
• Adhere the scallop circles to overlap the edges of the lid (they now hide any discrepancy between top and bottom).
• Cut a slit in the front scallop circle to weave the ribbon tab through
• Add the Basic Gray magnetic snap (and pop dots as appropriate) to the back of the front scallop circle to match the corresponding Basic Gray magnetic snap hidden underneath the front bottom square.
• Embellish the rest of the lid as desired. (TIP: I used an edge ruler to create decreasing sizes of box templates so I could layer the lid with additional cardstock and patterned papers.)

Treasure Chest with Faux Alligator Technique

Club MED/Special Trade at 2009 June TAC Seminar by KellyRae Cooper

Click here for a picture tutorial in PDF format (includes both templates)

Click here for the non-picture tutorial in PDF format (includes both templates)

Click here for the template (can be copied onto cardstock)

Click here for the template annotated with masked areas and brief instructions

I received the paper template about 7 years ago, but I don’t know who originated it.  My apologies up front and if this is your template, please let me know and I’ll add an acknowledgement to the handout.

· Copy template onto 8 ½ x 11 sheets of cardstock (it won’t copy onto black cardstock, however, by tracing the template and following the clues on the template, it is easy enough to make black treasure chests)

· Cut on the solid lines and score on the dotted lines (TIP: I used the ScorPal to make my score lines, however, since the ‘mountain’ score lines needed to be on the inside, I used the template as a guide to make my score line on the front of my cardstock…the side that did not have the dotted score lines…it sounds a lot more intimidating than it actually is)

TO CREATE THE FAUX ALLIGATOR TECHNIQUE:

·         Mask bottom and side tabs with sticky notes (also mask large rectangle area between the two side “humps”)

·         Brayer Versamark ink onto open areas; then sprinkle clear embossing powder onto the Versamarked areas and remove sticky notes (DO NOT heat embossing powder at this time)

·         Use a stylus to draw lines through the embossing powder (creating a cross-hatch grid pattern)

·         NOW heat embossing powder

·         If desired, add hardware trunk handles (photo loops) before assembling box

TO ASSEMBLE TREASURE CHEST:

·         Apply red tape to the front of the side tab (place it closest to the treasure chest side)

·         Apply red tape to the back of the two large bottom tabs (at the bottom edge and only on the large section) and to the back of the NON-curvy edge rectangle (place it closest to the edge).

·         Peel off the protective covering from the side tab and adhere to inside of matching side.  Fold the treasure chest back and forth to create a rectangle ‘box’ shape.

·         Peel off the protective covering from the bottom tabs; fold the two short bottom tabs in and then fold the two longer bottom tabs (with the red tape); press firmly from the inside of the box to adhere securely

·         Peel off the protective covering from the rectangle piece and fold it inside the box

The TAC Seminar in Wichita was a blast, but soooo exhausting. I saw lots of friends (old and new) and tried out some of the new stamp sets in the new catalogue. Yes, folks, we have new rubber (samples of which I’ll be stamping and sharing over the next few weeks).

One of the more fun activities at a stamp company’s annual convention is that time-honored tradition of swapping (or trading) stamped items with a hundred other (or more) like-minded crafters. My contributions included 100 Halloween themed cardfronts (a nod to a Halloween-loving angel…you know who you are); 36 chocolate filled, patterned paper covered, layered scallop circle topped round tins; 60 little faux crocodile chocolate filled treasure chests (ohmigosh, those were fun to do); 8 little pop-up notepad holders (good for golfers and bunco players!); and my absolute favorite trades were the 3 trinket boxes I made for my managers lunch prop swap and my two roomies.

Can you say ‘over achiever’? I mean really. I knew I wanted to do the Halloween set, I knew I wanted to use kraft cardstock sponged with white (um…100 cardfronts x 4 sides to each cardfront…not thinking too clearly there). Oh, and I wanted it to be special, so of course I would color the image. Let’s count how many colors I used. Yellow and orange markers for the moon, three colors of prisma pencils for the fence, two purples for the hat, one green (oh, how dull), two prismas for the broom straw, a silver prisma for the hat buckle, gray tombow marker for shadows, and stardust glitter pen on the hat buckle and broom straw for bling. All that on 100 cardfronts. Yikes!

Here’s a sneak peek of my faux alligator treasure chests. I’m working on a step by step tutorial. I actually took photos of each step.

 
Here’s a picture of the three trinket boxes. The bases are 8 four-inch circles folded into squares, cool, huh? A picture tut will also be forthcoming within the next few days.

And here’s a photo of my team gifts. I love how the pencil flips up when the front is opened. Very easy to make using the ScorPal too.

I like to double up on my creative efforts (okay, I admit IT, I am lazy…or could it be pressed for time?) so I took my sassy stampers third March class card to create a swap card for my upline upline upline’s big Serendipity magalogue swap (big because we had 37 participants…WOW). I know the swap cards were mailed last week and participants have started receiving them, so now I can post the cards.

Here’s the CLASS card, outside and inside. The focal piece used a new-to-me technique called dry embossed vellum (click here for a photo tutorial, or continue reading this post for a verbal tutorial).

During my March classes, as I demoed the technique, I had a strip of vellum with the birds traced once, the birds traced twice, and then the birds stamped in Noir and “filled in” with the stylus (it shows the different looks a stamp and vellum can have). In class we used the back side of thick rubber mousepads to be able to see the versamark on the vellum for tracing, but the burgundy Darice thick foam pad would work just as easily. To see the differences between dry embossed vellum techniques, check out this photo.

To recreate my card’s focal point, stamp an image in versamark onto vellum paper (not vellum cardstock), and trace the stamped outline with a fine-tip stylus (and yes, the tracing is done on the WET versamark ink, don’t wait for it to dry). It’s best to trace lightly two or three times, rather than tracing once heavily and risk poking through the delicate vellum. In class we colored the birds using blender pens and markers. In the card above, notice the grass “grounding” the birds. We used the stylus to draw our own grass blades and then used the blender pen and marker, and then marker alone to color the grass. Let the coloring dry, flip over the vellum piece and adhere to white cardstock cut the same size. I used the Mega Scalloped Square Punch (pink) and the Giga Scalloped Square Punch (purple) to create the frame on top of the vellum piece.

I slightly changed the design on my SWAP card. (Click the photo to see the full card.)

On this card, I colored the birds using prismacolor pencils (no OMS or blender pen, just straight coloring and shading with pencils) and I did not use a punched frame on top of the vellum. To create the dual-colored saying, I first colored “heart” with the Cerulean Blue marker from the Impress Brights marker set, then colored the rest of the saying with the Aquamarine marker.

Stamps: TAC Beautiful Day; Colorants: Palette Jardin Moss, Tsukineko Versamark, Tsukineko Impress Markers (Brights), Prismacolor Pencils; Paper: DCWV Blue #1, Apple Green #2, Robin’s Egg #2; TAC Premium Heavyweight White; Vellum; Accessories: Giga Scalloped Square Punch, Mega Scalloped Square Punch, Stylus, Kokuyo Adhesive, foam tape

Even though I’ve heard rumors that Coluzzle products worldwide will be unavailable soon, I wanted to make this basket for one of our March class projects. Hey, Coluzzle is made by ProvoCraft, so it should be around a few more weeks at least.

About 6 years I learned how to use an Oval coluzzle template to create a darling basket. Linda Persoon was the clever SU demo who shared that technique with  her class those many moons ago. This project so impressed me that I bought the whole system just to create that basket. I’ve used it for get well cards, sympathy cards, and thinking of you cards, but…um…had not used it yet for an Easter card…sigh. And my good friend suggested it could also be a purse (if the inner arcs were cut off at the top of the basket and not folded down–good one Diane).

The first 5 sassy stampers classes made this card

and then the March TAC Special “Fresh Spring Things Kit” sold out, and I had to find a different Easter set to use. Thank goodness for my friend Diane Loy. I was able to shop from her endless shelves to use the Nobunny Like You set (she also loaned me the I Love Easter set, but I wanted to have the little images peeping through the top of the basket, so I didn’t use it). I can’t believe I didn’t have any Easter stamp set (okay, I DO have Easter stamp sets but they aren’t current…lol). Here’s the card made in the 6th March class (and the closeup)

I used the 8×8 patterned paper Designer Collection Gentle Beginnings (which is now sold out) but any patterned paper would work (and doublesided patterned paper would be OUTSTANDING).

For a tutorial of how to create the basket, click here.