Film Noir Magnet Box

I was very excited when these thin metal boxes arrived from Sakura Craft. Approximately 5" x 6" by 1/2" deep. I really wasn't sure what I was going to do. In the back of my mind, I'd had thoughts of a puzzle - where you move the pieces around to create a picture.

I started playing with the Graphic 45 Curtain Call Borders and some found objects . . .

An idea was slowly starting to take hold . . . the paper reminded me of Film Noir, the name given to Black & White films created from the early 40s with big stars and melodramatic stories.

And, yet, I still had the idea of a puzzle to form a picture . . . inside the box. 24 Scrabble Tiles

I had picked the tiles randomly out of a bin at Zinnia's in South Pasadena. Maybe I had a word . . . .

I obviously needed to do a little research on Film Noir, as I was spelling it incorrectly. No Spell Check on Scrabble tiles. The box cover was starting to come together . . .

Now for the tiles, rather than one big image, I decided to combine a bunch of small images from the Curtain Call border paper. I adhered the images to the Scrabble tiles using the 3D Crystal Lacquer.

Although not pictured here, I trimmed off the edges on each tile and then applied 3D Crystal Lacquer on top of each.

I painted the inside of the box black, to really make the images on the tiles pop!

I then was trying to figure how to secure the tiles into the box in a neat and orderly fashion. I also wanted to be able to move the images around, finally something clicked and I pulled out these small button magnets.

Now I could rearrange the images to my heart's content, kind of like the puzzle I was after.

On the inside of the lid, I applied another image and covered it with 3D Crystal Lacquer. Once again, I was too impatient with giving the lacquer time to dry and I closed the lid too soon and there was a glue mishap. Give your 3D Crystal Lacquer plenty of time to dry, especially if it is a thick layer.

Once the inside was complete, I moved back to the outside to add the elements decided on, earlier in the process.

I realized that I would also have to paint the lid black, to get the same effect as on the inside of the metal box.

And, now Noir is spelled correctly. These Scrabble tiles were also glued to magnets.

This project took a lot of time (waiting for paint and glue to dry); however, I was very pleased with my results. I loved the Curtain Call paper from Graphic 45 and it was a fun way to put it to use.

Keep on feeding your Creative Soul!

~Heather Morrow

Clowning Around, Part Duex

Okay, I'll admit that I am a bit enamored with the Graphic 45 Le Cirque Collection; however, when I started the project - I intended for it to be more of a sliding puzzle - where you move the boxes around to create or jumble up an image. I had been sent these glass tiles along with jewelry findings to create my latest Design Team project from Sakura Craft.

I was on the hunt for a small box and found this in my basket of scraps. It was packaging from some sort of device - I don't remember, but now I had a box and the tiles puzzle idea was evolving as I started thinking outside the box in order to create "Controlled Mayhem to Dazzle & Delight."

I started by covering the box in the LeCirque Collection paper. I tried to match up images where I could, as I turned the corners. To glue the pieces down to the box, I used Clear 3D Crystal Lacquer.

I then used the 3D Crystal Lacquer to glue the different sizes of glass tiles to the tag images.

After the Crystal Lacquer had dried, I used trimming scissors to cut closely around the edges of the tiles.

Then the fun part -- creating a layout in the box that told a story. I placed everything in position before I began gluing the pieces or using pop-dots to secure them to the box.

The final product hanging on my dining room wall. The tag hanging on the ring was a last minute whimsical addition.

I really enjoyed putting this project together --as it continued to evolve from what I had originally envisioned. The glass tiles are very easy to work with; however, if you get too much 3D Crystal Lacquer on the tile, it can slide off your image. Less is definitely more in this case.

Have fun creating!

Heather Morrow