Ivy Writing Box (Part 3/3)

Video HERE


Actually, after the palaver I made of the CD box last month, this actually went quite well!

I didn't really draw up any plans for this one... but I hope you can follow along. These are my notes from the various stages of the process...

Cutting

• I started with some 75mm stripwood that was 6mm thick and, with the books I was making in mind planned for a 300x250mm box.
• Like the CD box I pre-cut the lid from the side, leaving about 3-4mm still attached, this turned out to not be strong enough (and the cuts weren't quite aligned so more trimming was required later) and both long sides needed to be taped together for the gluing. Not sure how to resolve that issue in the future, I suspect that the tabs would never be strong enough to support such long cuts. I do not intend to use this method again for long sides anyway.

Building

• When it came to gluing I had a problem, unlike with the CD box I don't have elastic bands long enough for this, and no bar clamps either so I had to resort to sticking one corner at a time using G-clamps and a square block of wood. Not ideal, but it worked out OK in the end with only a 2mm variation between diagonal measurements.
• I was not yet decided on how I was going to decorate so protected the wood surface from the clamps with pieces of card. Turned out I needn't have been so particular, but it was good practice.
• I was tempted to try jointing the top and bottom, but in the end glue and pins won out. My pieces of ply were not wide enough, which kinda led to the decoration...
• The cutting technique made splitting top and bottom rather easy - seeing that half the tabs had already been broken - but needed more trimming to get them flat than I expected.
• When cutting back the overhang I did have some minor problems with the thickness of the material getting stuck under the scroll saw arm... must be aware of clearances in future.

Covering

• The naff-looking ply led me to decide on a paper mache/decoupage covering, initially to strengthen the join, and then to cover the dinged-up surfaces.
• I fell back onto my favourite material, book pages, for the box as it was going to be a writing box that felt appropriate.
• WARNING when selecting a book for this kind of thing make sure it's not got any dodgy words. I have previously come a cropper when using colonial texts such as Heart of Darkness which contain language which is no longer appropriate. If your pieces are small enough you may be able to get away with it, but although mine has been painted you can still make out the text in large areas.
• When preparing paper for this it is better to tear rather than cut, frayed edges blend together better - unless you're looking for a more precise effect.
• I kept my paper pieces to about 2" square and alternated the text direction as I went.
• It is best to use a cheap PVA mixed 50:50 with water - the classic mache mix which soaks easily through layers of paper and wood.
• I covered both the top and bottom then left them to dry completely before folding and gluing the overhang, trying to glue and fold both sides at once can be rather frustrating.
• After cutting the lid in half I used short strips of paper without text to cover the raw edge - not necessary, but I prefer it.
• Once everything was absolutely dry (do not rush mache, it will start to peel if you move on too soon) I started with a coat of bright red acrylic (I prefer to start bright, then bring it down this way otherwise it can get muddy) then dry-sponged on a thin coat of black and dark brown. I particularly worked the paint into the edges between paper, then made sure the covering was relatively even all over.
• A light sponging of bronze acrylic over the top added a little glitter and flare.

Resin

• I unpacked my dried ivy - see this month's 3-Minute skill - and took some time to arrange them over the top of the box.
• I should have used gloves, but completly forgot... as it was the leaves were encapsulated before any added moisture could have caused them to degrade.
• I used a very scant amount of glue to stick them down, but probably should have used more weight to keep them flat.
• After the first layer of resin I made a wall around the lid with tape before adding the next to try and keep the flaps from deforming, but there was a fair amount of over-spill in the last layer so that didn't help much.
• I sanded gently between each layer, but still caused some damage to the high-spots of the leaves that doesn't show unless you're looking for it.
• I used my non-Dremmel to grind back the excess resin before painting the raw edge.

Lining

• I decided on a simple brown paper lining - and will add some ivy detail with stamps later.
• I could have gone for fabric, but couldn't find something I liked in my stock and thought a simple finish would be better.

This project was both simple and complex at once, the bookbinding is a skill I intend to continue, although resin-covers will probably not be repeated. It was nice to work through a project that covered all the subjects of the month... I'm hoping to do it again in the future, although finding something that will include Dragon Food next time might be interesting...