The Gentleman Crafter

Finishing up The Traveling Watch Box

Yahoooooo.  I've found some time!  LOL! 

Let's finish up the Traveling Watch box!  A Novella the size of James Michener's Texas!!!

Let me just say this real quick...I will rewrite this whole tutorial with better instructions and in .pdf format as soon as I finish my G45 projects.  I have less than two week to go before the G45 projects are due.  I want to give it my all.  Work is CRAZY busy and why wouldn't it be, right when I have so much going on in my personal life!  HAHAHAHA!!!  So, for the next couple of weeks I thought I would show you some projects I had done by other designers in the past to keep you entertained and mainly so you will keep coming back to visit!  I don't want y'all to forget about me!  God Forbid!....

Ok, on to finishing this up.  Where did we leave off?

The interior box and tray...That's it!

Cut the box pieces per the cutting guide. 

 

 

 

Cut strips of 1 inch cardstock and score in half.  Apply Scor-Tape to each side of score line.  You will need several of these strips.

Next, place the side piece along the top of the bottom piece and apply the structure strip.  do this for all four sides.  Once this is done apply the strips to the sides, forming the box.

 

 

Once this is done, cut some 1 inch strips and score them in half and then at 5/8 of an inch.  You will have two score lines.  Apply Scor-Tape to the left and right of the score lines.

 

 

Measure the lips of the box and cut the strips to these measurements.  Clip the corners into points.

 

 

Now pull the tape backings and apply the strips to the edges.

 

 

 

Ink all the edges.  Let dry. Cover the box's exterior and interior with patterned paper.

Repeat these same steps for the smaller top tray.

Next cut a 1/2 strip of chipboard..  Cut four pieces to 3 inches and round the edges with a corner chomper.  Ink if desired.  Mark the center of each end around 1/4 inch in from the edge.  Pierce or punch a 1/8 hole at each mark.

 

 

On the side of the box, find center.  About 3/4 inch down from the lip of the box, punch a 1/8 hole.  On the right side do the same coming in from the right edge 2/3 of an inch.  Repeat this for the other side of the box.

For the tray do the reverse of above by measuring 2/3-inch from the left side of the tray top.  Punch a hole.  Again punch a hole in the center  about a 1/4 inch down from the tray top.  repeat this for the other side.

Insert brads into the holes, through the chipboard strip and then through the box and secure.

 

 

 

Glue or tape the box to the center middle section of the finished case.

 

 

The Handle...

 

 

 

I cut a 1/2-inch strip of Grunge paper and stained it with Vintage Photo Stain.  I then cut a rectangular piece and centered it on the 1/2 inch strip.  I then folded the edged under and glued it to the underside.  Next I added D-Rings to the 1/2-inch strips ends and used brads to secure.

I then took small 1-inch pieces and put them through the D-Rings and braded them to each end of the top of the case.

 

 

The Watch Holder (for lack of a better name!)...

 

 

Ok, this will get cha!  Take a piece of pipe insulation found in the plumbing department at Home Depot! Oh, while your there grab a yard stick too!  The Home Depot yard sticks are cheapppp!!!!

Cut both the insulation and the yard stick to the size of the interior box.  The insulation has a slit on the side.  Open this up and insert the cut piece of yard stick.

 

 

Next cut/punch a 3 inch circle.  Apply glue to the insulation and yard stick.  place the circle on top and glue into place.  Once this is done, cut angular pieces from the paper.  You will be making tabs to glue to the insulation.

 

 

Now you can  glue the tabs to the insulation.

 

 

 

 

Take a piece of patterned paper and cut to size of insulation.  Glue one end to ruler.

 

 

Next, fold the paper around the tube.  Now go back and glue the paper to the insulation coming back to where you started. 

 

 

The last step is to glue two 3 inch strips of stained grunge paper to each end.  This will help pull the watch holder out from the deep box.

Slide on a formal watch, a fun casual watch and close the box up and you are done!!!!

That's it folks!  I know, crazy instructions!  Like I said, when all the projects are done I will go back and rewrite all this!  LOL!

Thanks so much for your patience!

Jim

The Gentleman Crafter

 

 

 

 

 

 

2012 ATT Get Together Austin, Texas

What an incredible day it was to meet so many new friends at the All Things Tim Get Together at Archiver's today!!

Once again I am amazed at how incredibly talented people are!  It was so cool to see everyone crafting and to be able to learn so many new techniques.  I am so grateful to this wonderful group.  I had so much fun!

For the Get Together we had the option to swap an ATC or a tag with the others.  So, I decided on a tag and wanted to share with you how it was done....

I embossed a #8 manila tag with a wood grain embossing folder.

You may recall the candle wax technique I used on the Silver Wings Frame, well, my friend Paul Browning from The Artsiders Blog took it one step further and applied it to a tag.  You may see his awesome tutorial here. 

I painted the tag black with acyclic paint on the embossed side.  You don't have to paint the tags perfect with this technique.  Yahooo!

Next you do what I call candling.  Take an old taper or really any candle and run the candle over the surface of the embossed tag.  The wax will act as a resist when a second coat of paint is applied.

Next I applied a coat of Ranger's Picket Fence fairly heavily.

Once the paint is dried, I sanded of the embossed (raised area) with a sanding block.  This pulls off the paint where the wax resist was applied leaving the black undercoat to show.

Next, I applied Scor-Tape (yep, you know me and scor-tape!  Have to use it on every project!  LOVE IT!!) in a criss-cross pattern on the tag.

I then dyed seam binding tape with Watermelon Alcohol Ink and applied it to the tape.

I glued on a couple of my Monster Flowers (you can find my tutorial here.) to the bottom of the tag.

I stamped a quote on cardstock, cut around it and glued it to the tag.

For the finishing touches, I punched a butterfly from cardstock then backed it with a Tim Holtz Movers and Shapers butterfly; added some game spinners with a brad and glued the butterfly to the tag.  I dyed some seam binding tape with several shades of green alcohol inks, and tied a bow at the top of the tag.  Added some die cut flourishes and called it the best I could do!  LOL!

That's it!  Fun to make!  Hope the Ladies liked them.

Tomorrow, I will give you the final steps to finish up the Traveling Watch box.  I thank you all for being so patient with this project.  Please come back and let's put this one to bed.

Thanks so much for looking!

Jim

The Gentleman Crafter

Check Out Judith's TWB!

Good Morning All! 

It's raining buckets here this morning!  I couldn't be happier!  Texas has been in such a drought, this will fill up our lakes and make our Spring wildflowers even better!  Hopefully, it will soak the roots of all those poor dead and dying oak trees that have so taken a beating these last couple of years!  At my house alone, I had at least 60 oaks die.  Not from Oak Wilt, but from total lack of water.  Looks like it will rain the whole weekend!  Good crafting weather!

Speaking of crafting, I want y'all to take a gander at my friend Judith's Traveling Watch Box!  You can find JudithC28's Blog here.  Don't you hate when someone's project looks better than yours!  LOL!  She is one of those people that can look at a picture and duplicate it without any measurements, or a pattern to follow!  Amazing Judith As Always!

You done me proud Judith!

Have a Fun Friday All!

Jim

The Gentleman Crafter

TWB Part 3

Thanks for the laughs you all!  Now I'm relaxed.  Just like a little boy, I'm sitting here in the dark with my laptop and LASER PEEPERS (I named them) waving my head around in different directions to see the deigns it makes on the wall. LOL!  I think I'm loosing it!  HAHAHA!

OK to the business at hand...Part 3 of the watch box.

We left off with forming the left and right boxes.  I would go ahead and cut some 1 inch strips of cardstock, score in the middle at 1/2 inch and apply Scor-Tape to each side of the score line.

 

 

 

Cut these strips into the sizes needed to reinforce all the seams on the interior of the boxes.

 

 

Now for the middle section which in my brain, I thought I had named watch box bottom!  No the middle section.  Why couldn't I have been more romantic and called it a bridge or something cool! The Bridge Between The Boxes...Sounds like a novel...

Ok, the middle section which is 3-7/8 x 5- 3/4 will be covered just as you would a book.  Cut a patterned piece of paper to 4-7/8 x 6-3/4.  Take the middle section and adhere down leaving a 1/2 border around the chip.  Miter the edges. Now apply Scor-Tape around the edges of the chipboard.

 

 

Fold over the edges and reinforce with a bone folder.

 

 

Cut a piece of PP to 3- 5/8 x 5-1/2 and apply adhesive to the back and glue to finish off covering the middle section.

OK let's put this together!

Cut 4 hinges that are 5-1/2 by at least 1-1/2 inches.  This all depends on if you want a decorative punch to show on one of the sides.  Score all the pieces in the middle and apply score tape to each side of the score mark.

 

 

 

Starting with the outside bottom, apply a set of the hinges as if the box were closed.  Pull the tapes and apply to one side at a time.  Now turn the box over and extend the sides and apply the next pair of hinges making sure the score line is in the gap created by apply the outside hinges closed.

Now the box is all together!

We will work on the interior boxes next time. 

Thanks for looking!

Jim

The Gentleman Crafter

 

 

 

BEING GOOFY!

You know, what is better to relieve stress than a laugh!  Check out this picture of me in my new fangled light up peepers!  I love these jobbers but what a goof!  :)  I look like a deer in the headlights!  Bahahaha!

Sorry just had to post!  I look like a spelunker! LOL!  It's OK..Laugh!  Release!

Thanks Y'all

Jim

Traveling Watch Box Part 2

 

 

 

OK, had a couple of questions.  First let's tackle this...

For the Watch Box Bottom you will need two pieces of chipboard cut to 3-3/4 x 5 1/4.  The Middle Section is 3-7/8 x 5-3/4.  Thank June Marie!  I love ya! 

Secondly, let me explain the paper marriage!  :)  To cover this box with a single sheet of paper, the larger left side of the box when laid out flat needed just a dash more paper to fit across the width of the page.  So instead of just butting two like papers together, I wanted to add a little something.

By taking a sheet of 12 x12 patterned paper and cutting it in half at 6 inches you now have two pieces of 6 x 12.  Now take a contrasting sheet of paper and cut a 1-1/2 x 12 inch strip from it.  Then you want to marry the strips of paper together with the contrasting strip in the center.  starting with the 6 inch piece butt the 1-1/2 inch piece up next to it and tape down with Scor-Tape leaving the backing.  Continue with the other side.   When you marry these three pieces together it will then give you a 13-1/2 x 12 super strong sheet.  Make sure you use your bone folder to reinforce the tape.

Ok, I think that answers all the questions so now let's get to part 2...

We left off with adhereing the pieces down to the enlarges 13-1/2 x 12 sheet of paper.  The Left Side Box and the right side are put together the exact same way.  The dimensions of course are different but put together in the same fashion.

 

 

 

You want to leave a half inch border all the way around the chipboard pieces.  You can see above I used a pen to mark these off. 

Now, If you will also note, I enlarged the border around the wide chipboard piece above (the one that has no left or right pieces flanking it) to 3/4-inch.  You will do this for both the left and right box pieces.

 

 

Cut on your marked lines.  Then miter all the corners and apply Scor-Tape to the edges. Except for the bottom and the two tabs that are 3/4 inch wide (shown at the top of the picture).  The picture below does not show the Scor-Tape on the top two box side edges, but you do want to tape these now too.

 

 

Now for the bottom edge, apply Scor-Tape to the bottom edge being sure to tape each section separately.  With a craft knife you want to cut out a V shaped notch between the left side and the middle and the middle and right side.

 

Apply Scor-Tape to the 3/4 inch tabs fold tabs, align the corners and adhere tabs down.

 Use you bone folder to reinforce your seams.

That's it for tonight.  Typepad is acting up so I better quit while I'm ahead.

Thanks Again!

Jim

The Gentleman Crafter

Traveling Watch Box Done!

YAHOOO!  The Traveling Watch Box is done!!!  Just put on the last piece....

Here She Is...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, Here's the scoop, I'm going to walk you through the steps for making the TWB for the next couple of days as I work on my three Graphic 45 final pieces!   This way I can stay in touch with you all which feeds my addiction to blog and keeps me connected to what's going on and still be able to devote more time to these pieces, which obviously, I really want to look good!  Sound like a plan?

Ready??? 

OK, don't kill me...I gave you all the wrong correction today!  I just have to laugh!  This may be from lack of sleep, but I find this extremely hilarious!  I know I shouldn't be laughing and I'm so sorry if any of you have started this like my friend Judith from Australia!!  I was blogging on the fly this afternoon and I know better than to walk down a hall and type on a phone!  Last time I did this, I took out and elderly gent that popped out of nowhere!  Don't worry, he was fine after I wiped off the foot prints and helped load him into the ambulance!  :)  It's my shear lack of slowing down long enough to do things right!  I try!  LOL!  I promise the measurements below are final!  The corrected corrections!  LOL!

Once again here are the measurements and details:

I used med. weight chipboard for the Traveling Watch Box.  I wanted it to be beefy so each piece  is doubled in thickness.  Once the pieces were cut I taped it's mate back to back.

Here are the measurement for cutting the chipboard pieces.

Remember this is the doubled recipe!  :)

Exterior Box:

Left Side Top  2 - 3 x 6 inch pieces

Left Sides  4 - 3 x 4 3/8

Left Side Bottom  2 - 4 1/2 x 6

Middle Section 2 - 3-7/8 x 5-3/4 (corrected)

Right Side Top 2 - 7/8 x 6

Right Sides 4 - 7/8 x 4 3/8

Right Side Bottom 2 - 4 1/2 x 6

Interior Boxes: (not shown in picture above)

Small Tray Short Sides 4 - 7/8 x 3 5/8

Small Tray Long Sides 4 - 7/8 x 5 1/4

Small Tray Bottom  2 - 3 3/4 x 5 1/4

Watch Box Short Sides 4 - 2 7/8 x 3

Watch Box Long Sides 4 - 2  7/8 x 5 1/4

Watch Box Bottom 2 - 3 3/4 x 5 1/4 (Corrected)

Cut out all your pieces.  Double the thickness by matching them up and adhering them together.  Scor-Tape or Glossy Accents works well.

Take a piece of 12 x 12 patterned paper and cut it in half.  Take a 1 1/2 inch piece of contrasting paper and marry them together by turning the pieces over and applying Scor-Tape down the seam.  DO NOT PULL UP THE TAPE BACKING.  The tape and backing will permanently be hidden when box is formed.

Mark a half inch in from the bottom of the enlarged sheet of paper.  (I'm going to abbreviate the piece names.  Please see above for full names.) Take the LST and find the center and mark.  Apply adhesive to back and glue down.

 

 

On top of that piece stack the LSB leaving an 1/8 -inch gap.  I use the width of my ruler to do this. 

NOTE THE PICTURE BELOW SHOWS THE RIGHT SIDE BEING MADE. However, it's the exact same process as the left side.

 

 

When laying the side pieces, you will notice they are an 1/8 inch shorter than the base piece.  The reason for this is that the side pieces go just inside the Left Side Top.

 

 

Once done, this is what you should have. Notice how the front pieces are aligned.  The shorter 1/8 inch piece mentioned above is toward the back (top). 

 

 

Do this exact same thing for the right side adhering the pieces down, stacking the pieces leaving a 1/8th inch gap.

Well, that's a lot to figure out right there, so we will pick up from this point tomorrow.

Thank You all so much for putting up with me through my crazy moments!  LOL!  I appreciate you guys so much!

Thanks For Looking Y'all!  Come back tomorrow for Part 2!!

Jim

The Gentleman Crafter

 

 

Correction

OK, phone blogging again so beware...I wanted to post this real quick....

Correction to the dimensions to a couple of the TWB pieces:

Watch Box Bottom 2 - 3 3/4 x 5 1/4

Middle Section 2 - 3-7/8 x 5-3/4

Sorry about that. Completely overlooked this in my notes.

Have an awesome day!

Jim

The Gentleman Crafter

Traveling Watch Box Redo!

Hello Everybody!

I feel like I've let y'all down on the Traveling Watch Box....Here's an update...

Well, I wasn't happy with the details of the original Traveling Watch Box.  So what did I do? I spent last night up until God knows when thinking about it...Then again on the drive to and from work.  That alone is two hours of thinking time! :)  I about thought it into the ground!

When I got home I threw on my "work clothes," shorts and a t-shirt (sometime a ball cap just to cover up my bald patch!  Never know who might come out to the boonies to see ya!), left my clothes lying in the floor and ran to studio to cut more chipboard for a total rehaul!  Don't get me started!! LOL! I think this is a much stronger, cleaner box.  It's made as I do most of my boxes by covering the chip with a single sheet of paper rather than "structure strips" this time around.

Here's the new improved uncompleted version I was able to get done tonight.

 

 

Here's what we are going for...A mini version of my G45 Audition Watch Case pictured below.  This mini will hold two watches, have a handle and several latches to enable you to toss it into luggage and pull it out in the hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Aside: Yep!  I'm a watch Freak!  I keep telling myself they are for my nephew when I go to Glory! That somehow makes it OK...right?

 

Let me start by at least giving you all something to gnaw on...I know there are quite a few of you who will just be able to take the measurements and run with it, so here we go...

I used med. weight chipboard for the Traveling Watch Box.  I wanted it to be beefy so each piece  is doubled in thickness.  Once the pieces were cut I taped it's mate back to back.

Here are the measurement for cutting the chipboard pieces.

Remember this is the doubled recipe!  :)

Exterior Box:

Left Side Top  2 - 3 x 6 inch pieces

Left Sides  4 - 3 x 4 3/8

Left Side Bottom  2 - 4 1/2 x 6

Middle Section 2 - 4 x 5 3/4

Right Side Top 2 - 7/8 x 6

Right Sides 4 - 7/8 x 4 3/8

Right Side Bottom 2 - 4 1/2 x 6

Interior Boxes: (not shown in picture above)

Small Tray Short Sides 4 - 7/8 x 3 5/8

Small Tray Long Sides 4 - 7/8 x 5 1/4

Small Tray Bottom  2 - 3 3/4 x 5 1/4

Watch Box Short Sides 4 - 2 7/8 x 3

Watch Box Long Sides 4 - 2 7/8 x 5 1/4

Watch Box Bottom 2 - 3 3/4 x 5 1/4

Sorry to draw this out for so long but it's all I can do at the moment.  Thanks for understanding!

Y'all have an excellent night!

Thanks for looking!

Jim

The Gentleman Crafter

 

 

Thank You All!

Thank you all for your well wishes and such awesome comments!  Each one an inspiration to keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep moving on! What incredible talent there is out there!  The 30 finalist's work is amazing!  WOW!  I think I might need to brush up on fussy cutting!  Good Stars Have Mercy! LOL!  Congratulations to you all.  I am so blessed to be grouped with these awesome artists.

Well, I'm back to reality!  My little road trip was excellent!  The beach was beautiful and I already miss the sound of the waves.  Something I found out while away, ALL Michaels and Hobby Lobby's are exactly the same in Corpus Christi as the ones in Austin and Georgetown!  LOL!!

Seriously, something I want to mention...

I must say I did try all the listings for the local scrap stores in and around the beach.  Sadly, all were closed and out of business.  Man, we need to support these folks!  They may be a bit more expensive, but they are not buying the amount of inventory these larger stores can easily afford.  This bulk buying by the big guys, enables these stores to negotiate on prices.  I remember (and how would one ever forget) being a store owner of a 3000 sqft store in my 30's!  It was my life.  I loved it more than words.  Hankins and Company was my child.   I drew my salary out of the store.  I paid myself exactly 500.00 a month.  Sometimes I couldn't even do that!!  I didn't care, I just wanted it to be successful.  It's rough folks!  For those retailers who don't have deep pockets, they depend on us.  Trust me, our one purchase can make a difference!  I'm personally going to make an effort to do more with my local scrap stores.

OK, sorry to be on my soap box!  Like I said previously, I'm back at home and have taken the day off!  Well, half the day, it was a five hour drive back home...Once home, I caught up with my emails, tried my hand at making charms, I even went outside and totally decided against mowing the grass.  :)  That in my world is amazing!  It's so nice to be at home!  Whats even better, is what I call, Clean Sheet Night!  How amazing is the feel and smell of getting into bed with clean sheets!  THE BEST!  Yes, guys really do care about those kinds of things!  We just don't tell anyone! ...Like I just did!  LOL!

So back to working in the studio tomorrow.  I need to unpack everything I had to take with me, then I can get going on sharing the Mini Traveling Watch Box. 

Have a great weekend everyone and once again, I truly appreciate you all!

Jim

The Gentleman Crafter