Black Box & Black Book
The projects of this box and book were made to show how to print with the Creative Texture Plate and a gel printing plate. A single Creative Art Texture design and single colors was used for each project; Black on white, white on black. A print was made for the 6 sides of the box and book covers, inside and out. To give the printed pieces the look of glazed tiles, each print was embossed with clear embossing powder.
The little black book is made from one die cut box design fits inside the finished gift box.
NOTE: Beside the written instructions, there is a short video of approximately 4 minutes that covers the the printing on the gel plate, trimming the printed designs to fit the sides of the box, the process of embossing each design and adding the embossed squares to the box. In the written instructions the Creative Art Textures will be referred to as CAT.
Acrylic paint - white, black
Brayer
Printing paper
Mat board - 3 sheets
Adhesive (sheet or spray)
Clear acrylic ruler
Paper cutter or rotary cutter
Clear embossing pad
Clear embossing powder
Heat tool
Extra Materials
Scissors
Ribbon bias tape
Piercing tool
Scoreboard and tool
Paper for book spine and pages
Extra Materials
Black paint
Brush
Glue
Extender/paint
Optional: Mod Podge, glossy finish
Instructions
Printing the tile designs (Make 6 for the Box, Make 4 for the book)
Printing the tile designs (Make 6 for the Box, Make 4 for the book)
- Apply paint onto a surface (I used another gel plate). Use a brayer to spread the paint onto the gel plate used for printing with the Creative Art Texture.
- Remove the CAT from the plate and apply the paper square and make the print. Repeat for each paper square. Repeat the process with both black and white paint.
NOTE: The short video shows a small part of this process, found at the end of the post
Measure - Trim Printed Design Tiles
- Using an acrylic ruler, find the center of the printed design image on each printed sheet, in both directions and mark.
- Trim all four sides with a rotary cutter and ruler to fit the measurements of the sides of the box.
NOTE: The short video shows a small part of this process, found at the end of the post.
Embossing the Paper Design Tiles
- Press the paper tile into clear embossing ink.
- Sprinkle with clear embossing powder
- With heat tool, melt the powder to coat the paper.
- Repeat these steps 2 to 3 times to build the coating to look like a glazed tile. Repeat these steps for each paper tile.
NOTE: If using Mod Podge, glossy finish, use several coats of glossy Mod Podge to get a similar look. Allow time between coats to dry well.
Making Box
- Cut box from mat board (Two pieces will be needed for box, one for book).
- If using white mat board, paint the pieces with black matte paint. Crease at folds and paint the edges. Dry.
- Construct the box using glue or strong adhesive tape.
- Add double-sided adhesive sheets, cut to fit each paper tile square.
- Apply each square to a side of the box.
NOTE: Optional, a ribbon closure was made by using 4 lengths of ribbon. Poke a hole into the center of the bottom of the box. Thread the end of the 4 lengths through the hole, from the inside. Knot the four lengths together (make the knot big enough so it will not pull through). Draw up each piece of ribbon on each side the tie into a bow at the top.
Making Book
- Cut one mat board with die once.
- Measure and cut at the center of the middle square of the die-cut.
- Paint with black matte paint if needed. Paint all edges and creases. Dry.
- Glue the two cut pieces to form book. Use glue or strong adhesive tape.
- Cut a piece of black paper for center of the inside book to hold pages. Measurement is approximately - 6 1/2” x 3 3/4” (No wider)
- Using a scoring board and bone folder, make lines for folds 1/2” apart along paper strip. Form an accordion folded inside binding for paper pages. NOTE: Fold paper piece in half (this becomes the first mountain fold). Make 2 score lines from the center, both sides, each 1” apart. Turn piece over and make 1/2” score lines between the 1” spaces. The 2 ends will be a bit wider than 1/2”.
- Glue the first and last 1/2” fold onto the inner edges of the front and back covers.
- Apply the finished paper tiles, same as the directions above for the box, to outside and inside of the covers.
- Cut paper pages of choice to fit the book, gluing onto the accordion folds of the inside binding.
NOTE: Optional, add ribbons for a closure, glued into,place before adding front and back tiles.
