Victoria Book Box

It's time for a new challenge for the Purple Team at Eclectic Ellapu. This week  Madeleen is hosting and her challenge is Anything For Children younger than 12. I knew just what I wanted to do. I had this fun papier-mache book box in my stash and I had recently purchased some lovely digital images from Sugar Nellie Stamps, including two of Victoria. She's a beauty and I couldn't wait to start colouring!

I used Prismacolor pencils to colour both Victoria Full Body and Victoria head, delighting in every detail. Standing Victoria was fussy cut and the portrait image was cut with a scallop punch and inked around the edges with Vintage Photo Distress ink.

The book box was painted inside and out with Light Ivory craft paint. The spine was sponged wet on wet with three colours of Fresco Finish chalk paint: Avocado, Hey Pesto, and Hyde Park and then dry-brushed with gold acrylic paint on the raised areas. The papers used came from MME Lost & Found Market Street collection. A pale script paper was adhered to the front of the box with a torn dotty paper layered over that.

An MFT die was used to cut the chevron border from old French text paper and that was used along the bottom edge of the front. Vintage Photo Distress ink was applied to the edges of the front cover to age them and create a frame. Faux stitching was added above the zigzag.

To further embellish the book front, a length of lace trim was adhered across the top edge. Three mulberry flowers were hot glued to the upper right corner. Six butterflies cut with a Martha Stewart punch from the papers used were glued together down the center so that three butterflies now had popped up wings. pearls were added to the center of each. To tidy up the seam where the spine met the paper, gold bead trim was adhered. Glittery letter stickers announce what will be kept in the box by the little girl who receives it.

The pages on the outside of the book were loosely sketched in with pencil crayon and darkened at the top and bottom with Neocolor II watercolour crayon. Inside the bottom section, a delicate floral paper was adhered and a length of the same lace was glued along the top edge. The spine curves so the sides were not covered (I know my limitation :D)

The inset piece on the inside lid was fitted with another patterned rectangle cut from the same paper collection. It has a subtle tone on tone floral pattern on it. A light peach ink was sponged through a dotty stencil to add a little more texture and interest to the  background. Another of the coral flowers from the front was adhered to the upper right corner, and Victoria  deided to sit to the left side of the lid, mainly because she is looking down and if she's on the left she can see into the box. The Princess fishtail banner is cut from another page in the MME collection. Flat back pearls anchor the right edge. The  off-cut from the book text border on the front became a border for the inside.

That's it for me for this "For a Child" Challenge. Be sure to visit the Eclectic Ellapu blog to see what the rest of my Purple teamies have created. Great ideas and projects again this week! I hope you will feel inspired to play along. I always look forward to seeing your creations. Victoria and I appreciate  your visit today.

I am entering this project in the following challenges:
Di's Digi Designs Challenge (Saturday Fortnightly Challenge) ~ All About Children
Digi Haven ~ Green
Hotshot Craft ~ Challenge 15 Anything But a Card

Life is good; so is art.
 Bonnie