Mechanical Treasure Chest

I was pretty excited to know I'd get to assemble a treasure chest this month for Alpha Stamps! The chest is 4 1/2" x 2 3/4" x 2 1/2" tall, so there's plenty of room to stuff all sorts of gems inside. The outside of my treasure chest was covered with Graphic45's vibrant Voyage Beneath the Sea paper and painted with coordinating acrylic paint. 

The lid of the chest includes one of my favorite images from the G45 paper, this dapper snapper-riding gent that's ready for adventure. He's been glued onto a coil made from paper covered wire so he's sproingy. It reminds me of those metal animals on giant springs at the park. The lid also has a really cool 6 x 6 Gears Texture Sheet that I painted with Silks and cut to fit inside the lid's frame. There's also a metal clock with a spinning hand, a bronze octopus charm, a gorgeous (!) brass patina starfish, and an undersea beauty framed in a bronze gear.

So, what's inside the chest?

It is a little book! A little book that does little things!

Here is a short video.

I used many of the stamps in the Voyage Beneath the Sea stamp sets. 

I made the posable mermaid using the stamp from the Steampunk Mermaid set.

The Sea of Wonders stamp is included in the Riding a Fish set. 

All of the moving parts in my book are uncomplicated and I'm going to show you how to incorporate a few paper mechanics to your own art. Flaps are the easiest because it is four steps.

1. Cut out images.

2. Determine where to make a straight cut for your flap. Mine will be along the underside of the finger so I can slide the stem through. Make the cut.

3. Slide the flap through the slit. Glue down the flap of paper that is on the back. 

Sometimes the image you choose for the flap doesn't have a convenient stem, and in that case you can just cut a small rectangle of paper and glue it where you need it.

4. Hello!

The other cool thing you can do is add a pull string to make an image move. It takes four steps, too.

1. Gather materials: small eyelets, cut images, string (invisible or embroidery thread)

2. Determine where you want your moving image to "land" and also a place under that for the pull string. Poke holes with a thick needle or use a small hole punch, then add the eyelets. 

3. From the front of your card, thread the string through one eyelet then go out the other. I'm using black thread here to make it visible. And this, of course, is the back of my card.

4. Glue your moving image onto the string coming from the top eyelet and tie a button (or whatever you choose) to the other end. I like to glue my moving image onto black cardstock with the string in-between and then cut around the image again, just to make it look clean. On the back of card, add glue or double sided tape to perimeter only and adhere it to another sheet of cardstock. That will hide the string. 

To view all of the supplies in the Mechanical Treasure Chest, GO HERE. Have fun and happy crafting!