Harry Potter Book Box

This will be a longer post. I made this project for my grandboy's 9th birthday. He's really into Harry Potter, now reading the 6th book. 

I saw the pattern for this on Miss Mandee's blog. She provides a multitude of cut files and great projects for free. When I saw this one I knew I had to make it. I was a little overwhelmed with the extent of the instructions. I had previously found a shadow box frame that I really liked from Birds Designs, Picture Perfect Collection. So, I decided I'd just make the entire project on my own, using a couple lovely graphics of Miss Mandee's on the lids of the boxes.

I'll go through some of the steps I took to make it. I was using two of the box frames, which are 1"x1" sides. However, I wanted one to be 1.5" edge for a deeper box. So, I altered the pattern to be that size. I also wanted this to be stronger than just cardstock, so I lined all of the cardstock with chipboard.

I also wanted the door of the boxes to have magnets to hold them closed. I made a bridge in the bottom box to have two separate compartments, and an overlay for the top of each frame. Magnets are embedded under that overlay and between the two layers of the lids.

For the lid, I wanted to use images of Miss Mandee's, which are beautiful. I also wanted to use my foil quill in silver for the back lid. I first cut the cuttable part of the lid on white cardstock and removed the center (the lid). I then cut only the lid from the dark blue cardstock. I put the blue lid onto the mat inside the outer portion of the white cardstock so that my cutter could read the registration marks. I then did just the draw part (the image) using the foil quill, which transferred the metallic silver onto the dark blue cardstock. It turned out beautifully.

Removed the inside.

Then placed the blue lid inside the cut out on the white. This way, the cutter could read the registration marks for placement of the image.

And, here's how it looks:

Since there are two layers of the dark blue door/lid, I glued the left edge of one along the top of the box frame and the other down the side of it. and, before gluing the two tops together I inserted the second magnet in between. The other magnet was inserted into the actual frame. Once all of the magnets were inserted and the lids glued on, I put the overlay to cover up any raw edges.

I used the top section for a sealing wax set. I made a matching box with it's own magnet closure to put the wax chips in. I made a window with acetate so you could see inside. 

 

Next I made second box with a 1"x1" edge. I was able to do a regular print-2-cut, since the background was parchment and the registration marks were easily viewed by the cutter. This one was one large section.  Again I used Miss Mandee's artwork on the lid. I designed the artwork on the inside of the box and the overlay.

Inside this parchment box I put a birthday Hogwarts' acceptance letter, personalized for my grandboy. I also made a little Gringotts' money holder, as we gave him the cash to buy his wand when he goes to Universal Studios this week. I also inserted a book mark, and a mini Book of Spells. The Book of Spells came from Wizardry Workshop (Danny). What an amazing site he has. He gives away tons of free DIY printables. 

The Book of Spells

Hogsmeade coupons and Night bus tickets.

I'll be adding more printables; just didn't have time to get them printed before his birthday.

Next the binding of the book box has a drawer on the bottom of the back side. In it I put some HP pencils and a mini Dumbledor wand/ink pen. All of this was made with heavy chipboard.

The covers were made with chipboard and printed cardstock using digi paper purchased on Etsy. I also purchased the book border images and placed multiple borders together to fit across the 12" cardstock (it took two). I also printed all of the parchment patterned cardstock. The bottom/back cover was one solid piece. The front one was in two pieces with a little space between for a hinge. I used some book binding tape to support the area of the fold.

I made a hinge with magnets to hold the book closed. Two layers of cardstock, with some Tyvek between to make it stronger. I used brads to secure it to the chipboard before gluing the box frames in.

The lower section in the dark blue box had night bus tickets, coupons and a Hogwart's ID (personal info has been deleted), as well as a time-turner keychain. I'll be making more printables to add to it.

Lastly, I made the binding from Kraft Tex. This is an untearable thick paper product. It's pretty stiff, so I went to YouTube to see if you could wash it and soften it up. And, I could, so that helped immensely. I crumpled the Kraft Tex up as much as I could, over and over again. Once it was sufficiently crumpled, I washed it. It made it so much more pliable. I then ironed it. I used a test piece to see if I could use the foil quill on it, but it was a fail (it could have easily been user error). So, I cut out the binding art with gold htv, then pressed it onto the Kraft Tex. It worked wonderfully.

A few add-ons:
I made some Gringotts checks and receipts, as well as some Platform 9-3/4's tickets and some Hogwarts Express stickers.

And here is a Hogwarts diploma. I left the name blank for this post, but of course his has his name on it.

And, it was finally done. I spent a lot of sleepless nights just thinking about each step. I think that was the most exhausting part. But, I'm pleased with the outcome, as was my grandboy. 

He (well, and his mom) got 1st place for best hand/homemade costume. This was my daughter's first time sewing anything, ever. She did a fabulous job on it.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy!