Deco Book & Box with Stencils, Molds, Resin, & Shrinky Dinks!

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 2 of this week's blog hop with StencilGirl Products and Amazing Casting Products! I'm excited to be joining in since I love using molds and resin in my work, and using them with stencils was even more fun!

For this project I took some left-over packaging (it was the box from the ceramic Peking Opera mask that I used in a panel I shared last week,) and turned it into a decorated case for a mini handmade book. Can you tell where I used molds and resin with my stencils?

I put together a little tutorial for you, including a fun technique I came up with using Amazing Casting Products mold making putty and resin with a few of my stencil designs.

First up, my new technique. I wanted to use some of my new Art Deco stencils (here I'm using my Art Deco Borders stencil,) but I wanted to work with a smaller size. So, I inked the part of the design I wanted to use onto a piece of Shinky Dink film.

Next I used an X-Acto knife to cut out the inside pieces. Since this was going to shrink a lot, and since it takes a fair amount of effort to cut through the film, I only cut out the details I really wanted to have show that were big enough to look good in a much smaller size.

Then I cut around the outside of the design with a pair of sharp scissors. I repeated this process using my Art Deco Medallion stencil, then followed the instructions on the package to shrink them in my oven. It did take a few tries reheating and uncurling the plastic for the medallion, but in the end, they both worked!

Now that I had my stenciled designs in a smaller, 3D version, I could move on to the next step - making molds so that I could create multiples! (Please keep in mind that all of StencilGirl's stencil designs are copyrighted, so you should only do this for your personal use, or for use in one-of-a-kind artwork that you sell.)

I took my Amazing Mold Putty and made molds of both of my mini stencil designs.

Then I took some white casting resin and cast both molds. When they were cured (which only takes about 15 minutes!) I cleaned them up a bit and then they were ready to use!

Before I started I had a few ideas for how I'd planned to use these, but once I got to this point I realized that the shapes I'd picked would fit together perfectly to make some really cool embellishments! I got out my Aves Apoxie Clay and mixed up a small amount to start connecting things together and then to start adding to the structure.

 

You can see above (middle photo) where I added thin ropes of clay around the edges as a border and then used it to start adding other bits onto the structure. I also put dots of clay in a few spaces and then indented the middles in order to create a space to add a jewel or pearl or something later on.

Next up, I painted it. I used gold and bronze metallic acrylic paints as well as a patina colored paint to make it all more cohesive. I also added a metal gear and a random piece of Turkmen jewelry and painted those as well so they'd all go together.

You can see in the photo above right that I did end up adding some jewels, and also glued one of my embellishments to a scrap of Chiyogami paper so that you could see some of the color and pattern through the holes.

With that done, I set my new embellishments aside to dry and started working on the box. I taped off the metal corners and spine (it had a cool design I wanted to keep) and then gesso'd the whole thing.

Then I used metallic gold and turquoise paints... you can see where I used my heat gun to bubble them a bit (I love the texture it adds!)

Once the paint was dry, I used my Art Deco Sunburst Corners stencil and some gold embossing paste and added a bit of dimensional pattern to the cover of the box.

With the outsides of the box painted and ready to embellish, I started working on the inside. First, I stenciled a piece of blue mulberry paper with my Art Deco Sunburst Background stencil and bronze paint.

I tore those down to the sizes I want and then adhered them (inking the edges of the piece for the inside cover first.)

To embellish the inside cover, I decided to use another molded piece. This time I made a mold of an old vintage metal face that was sent to me from Latvia and then cast that with resin and painted it to look like the original piece.

The resin takes paint so well - it was actually almost hard to tell which was the original when I was done!

Once dry, I took my new embellishment and layered it with some other metal pieces and adhered them to the inside of the cover.

Next up, to embellish the back of the box, I taped off a section of my Art Deco Borders stencil so that I could just stencil the middle circle I wanted to use. I stenciled on deli paper with pigment ink and then heat embossed with a mix of Emerald Creek embossing powders.

I cut that out and adhered with matte medium. 

To finish off the inside of the box, I attached some different trims, then added a bit of gold dimensional paint.

Whew... that's done. Back to the outside of the box!

With my resin & clay medallions cured and dried, I could finish up the cover. I adhered the medallion with the Turkmen jewelry pieces to the front in the center, then used a Tsukineko irRESISTible Pico Embellisher to fill in some of the stenciled sections.

Voila! The cover is done!

While that dried, I moved on to make the handmade book that would fit inside. I measured to see how big it could be, then cut down some pieces of Davey board and made a little 3"x5" book using the single-sheet Coptic binding. I painted the covers with a turquoise background paint by Matisse, then used a section of my Art Deco Bookplates stencil and some gold pigment ink to stencil the cover.

I heat embossed the stenciled area with gold embossing powder, then adhered my other resin and clay medallion into the center and embellished it with some acrylic rhinestones.

When all was dry, I put the book into the box - all ready to have the pages filled and to be a fun display piece when I wasn't using it.

Here are a few more photos and close-ups of the finished project so you can see some of the details:

There you go! I hope you enjoyed today's project and tutorial. Of course, this wouldn't be a blog hop without a  GIVEAWAY!

One lucky winner will receive both a $25 Gift Certificate to StencilGirl Products
AND a $25 Gift Certificate to Amazing Casting Products!

Visit the fabulous designers from both teams and comment for your chance to win!

The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to WIN! (One comment per person per blog please.)

You have until Sunday, April 23rd at 11:59PM Central Time to leave your comments.

Winner will be announced on StencilGirl's Facebook page and Amazing Casting Products’s Facebook page on Monday, April 24th.

 

Here's the lineup of blogs for this week - make sure you visit and comment on all of them to increase your chances to win!

April 19 

• Mary Beth Shaw
• Tina Walker
• Kristie Taylor
• Susan Brown
• Lyn Gill
  
  

April 20 

• Gwen Lafleur
• Karen Gaunt
• Tracy Alden
• Brenda Burfeind
  
  

April 21 

• Anna Friesen
• Janet Joehlin
• Maria Chuy Soto
• Tanya Ruffin

Comments

[Patty bocciarelli]

Stunning! You are so inspiring!

[Jill McDowell]

Your pieces are always so rich and luxurious Gwen!

[Mary C. Nasser]

I am seriously speechless, Gwen!
How brilliant to create shrinky dinks of your stencils that you can then use in the casting process! Way cool!
I love everything about this...your stencils, layers, colors, process!
SO happy you are on the hop! :)

[Eloise Luyk]

Oh MY..what beautiful detail...the layers really count.

[Alta Olden]

Intriguing!...loved all the details!

[Glenda Reed]

This technique is amazing! I enjoyed seeing it built up with various products.

[Annie]

Beautiful embellishments!

[Sue Duffy]

Wow! Super impressive. I'm rethinking how I want to use some of my stencils... now where did I put my shrinkydinks??? thanks for sharing!

[Susan M. Brown {sbartist}]

Oh Gwen... wow...Wow...WOW!!! I am speechless. AMAZING doesn't begin to describe what you have created here... and the cherry on top a FAB new way to make a custom item to mold. Thanks so much for sharing!!!

[Monica Garcia]

So gorgeous, the details are stunning!! Thanks for the great tutorial! garciacoach (at)gmail (dot)com

[Lisa Oden]

What an amazing project and techniques! Ha! I had forgotten about shrinky dinks and have some at home - you have inspired me. Thanks!

[mjmarmo]

Wow- this is a wonderful project! Thanks for sharing the process!

[Cathy Frailey]

Wow - so much detail! I love it - something to aspire to when I upcycle!

[Christy Clark]

Beautiful

[maria soto]

fist thing I said was "WOW" over and over again. amazing work and detail

[Diana Boyd]

Love this process

[Lyn Gill]

Sooo cool!

[Tina Walker]

As always! Stunning! ♥

[Susan Schultheis]

WOW Gwen, what an amazing art piece as well as a perfect tutorial. Thank you.

[Seth]

Another spectacular piece. That patina is sooooooo good.

[M. Austen]

I love the patina finishes!

[JackieP Neal]

Wow Wow AND WOW!!!!
Gwen this piece is absolutely BRILLIANT!
I love each and every detail and this surely reminds me of a treasure from a bygone era! And your Deco stencils and the way you incorporate them, well, freakin AmAzing!!
Thanks so much for sharing your tutorial!! Time to follow your blog!Your art is so inspirational!
Jackie ")

[Mary L Hockett Thoma]

Killing it Gwen, as usual. Your work is always a stand out! You make complicated look very easy. Great job ladybug.

[Anna]

Wow, Gwen! You outdid yourself again! Amazing work!

[Mary Holshouser]

thanks for sharing such detailed
instructions. Recycling is a
great thing.
thanks for sharing.
txmlhl(at)yahoo(dot)com

[Denise Spillane]

Gwen, this is so beautiful and creative. I have always loved the Cryslar building in NYC and Art Deco style. I really need these stencils so I hope I win! Hugs, Dee

[Meghan T.]

I am loving the blog hop and am thinking I need some new supplies now! So creative! So versatile!

[Kristin Van Valkenburgh]

This is brilliant! Love!