Book of Shadows Box – Part 3

 

Here we are once more and man has there been a few choice words between the box and I since our last adventure in Part 2. Some ideas I had were used while others were tossed out of the window thanks to aggravation. So settle in with a drink or a snack and let's dive into this together, shall we?

I had a Plan

Uneven Curve

And I say “had” in its loosest sense. You see, my original plan was to use apoxie sculpt to make it look like box had bindings to mimic an actual book and have a nice 3D affect. After some trial and error, I realized that it would be much more headache then it should be. Partially due to the fact that the apoxie sculpt refused to stick to the wood (which could honestly be fixed with some E6000 so it wouldn't have been too much of an issue) and partially just the construction of the box itself. I didn't notice that the side of the box was irregular if I attempted to correct the issue by oversanding, I would endanger the integrity of the box itself. So tossing that idea aside, I went and drew on what I wanted.

Watercolor Wash Stain

Now that I had that little issue sorted, it was onto the staining of the wood the non-traditional way. With watercolor washes. Using a ½ 4400 Angular brush and a mix of various blues and purples, I did a wash of the various colors on the parts of the wood that would be seen while the box was sitting on a table. Once it dried, I went back with some P400 X-Fine sandpaper and carefully sanded where I painted. The reason for this is the introduction of moisture to the wood will cause what you had previously sanded to feel a little rough to the touch. Lightly sanding it will make everything smooth again and it would be ready for clear coating later on. The watercolor staining will only lighten slightly, depending on the pressure used. If a bit of wood is exposed, just do a little touch up unless you're going for an
aged/weathered look.

For where the pages were to be, I ended up using acrylic paints instead to get the look I was going for. Painting with white first and letting it dry, I went back with my sandpaper to smooth things out like I did with the areas I did my watercolor staining. I then ended up using a bit of

Painted 'Pages'

black and pink to put in the illusion of pages and book binding.

Nearing the Home Stretch

As I get slowly closer to the end of the project, I purposely have to remind myself to slow down. Yes, I'm excited over the fact that I'll be able to do a clear coat soon but if I rush towards the finish line, I could easily screw everything up. Let's break down what I am planning on doing or what I need to remind myself to check on.

Start of detailing central design

1. Detailing and making the cover design cohesive – With many of my box designs, I go ahead and add an outline to the the various elements in the design with micronpens. I am still planning on doing this but this will also give me the opportunity to see if I need to add some more leaves or blossoms to the central design to it doesn't look unfinished.

2. Staining touch up & binding detail – I've noticed some spots where I need to do a little touch up of color to the box and the designs I put along the side still need to be finished.

3. Clear coat & optional extra details – Once I do my check of the first two things on the list, I get to clear coat. I normally use a clear glaze spray paint and it takes a few layers to get things to where I want them, making sure each layer dries before I add the next. As far as the 'optional extra details', I have a couple of bits and bobs I would like to add after the clear coat part of this process bit those ideas may get set aside.

So that's the game plan but who knows how things will go. Guess you'll need to stay tuned to find out. Stay creative, everyone!