Monday, October 17, 2016

Altered Treasure Book

Hello and thanks for visiting!  My project today is inspired by my love of old books.  I love the story of Robin Hood and his romance with Maid Marian; one time in college my boyfriend and I dressed as the romantic couple. The author, Howard Pyle, wrote many adventure books for children.   In this book I created a secret compartment to keep a special stash of money (or chocolate!)  away from prying eyes.

I started by deciding how deep I wanted my secret compartment to be.  (I actually could have made it even deeper than I did)  Then I glued the sides of the book pages together with Modge Podge (or you can use slightly watered down white glue).  I put another heavier book on top of this section while it dried overnight.  

I used an exacto knife to cut out the secret compartment.  If you use a ruler with a metal edge, it helps you cut more evenly.  After your compartment is as deep as you'd like, you'll need to Modge Podge the edges and let them dry (just like the outside of the book).

Now the real fun begins!  I covered the entire surface with Vintage Distress Collage Medium and let dry briefly, before painting on some Distress Ink Stain in butterscotch.  I just took off the spray lid and dipped a small paintbrush in the ink to apply it.  I colored in Robin with colored pencils, then added the dictionary word (it says "treasure").  

The die was cut from brown cardstock and inked with Distress Ink in forest moss and accented with Inka Gold.  I sprinkled a bit of bronze glitter while it was still wet.  The "FOUND" was a rub on that I adhered to the printed chipboard, then spritzed with Distress Spray Stain in fossilized amber to add more dimension.  

This would make a fun and unique gift for someone, along with some cash, a gift card, or some dark chocolate tucked inside!

Materials:

Modge Podge in matte
Die'sire Die "Victoriana"
Vintage Distress Collage Medium
Prima chipboard
"Found" rub on by Tim Holtz Idea-ology
Distress Stain: butterscotch
Distress Stain: fossilized amber
Distress Stain: forest moss
vintage measuring tape
dictionary page

This project is entered in Frilly and Funkie's Challenge: Author, Author!


3 comments:

  1. This is fantastic Susan! You have embraced the theme with gusto and I love love love what you created. Really clever and looks like an old fashioned book. Thanks for joining us over at Frilly & Funkie for the "Author Author" challenge.

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  2. This is beautiful and so clever with the hidden compartment! Lovely inspiration for the "author author" challenge at Frilly and Funkie Challenge!

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  3. Love that you've actually brought this book to life so beautifully! Thank you for joining us at Frilly and Funkie xx

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