Toy Shoppe Domino Book

Last year I created a large Victorian Toy Shop Diorama (click here if you missed it).  This year I thought I go completely the other direction, as in very small, and create a Toy Shoppe domino book.

The front and the back of the Toy Shoppe are dominoes with Masonite Gothic arch windows attached.  In the middle of the book are 4 Gothic arch windows that are hinged together and hinged to the dominoes.

The key to creating this book is gluing and patience.  Since I was dealing with mostly non-porous surfaces such as the plastic (dominoes), Masonite (arches) and metal (hinges and embellishments), I used E6000 to glue almost everything.  The only exception was the paper items which I used Glossy Accents if I was gluing to a non-porous surface and Tombo Mono Multi if I was gluing paper to paper.  

The book is held closed with a chain/clasp that is attached to fold over bails.

The key to creating this book is gluing and patience.  Since I was dealing with mostly non-porous surfaces such as plastic (dominoes), Masonite (arches) and metal (hinges and embellishments), I used E6000 to glue almost everything.  The only exceptions were the paper items.  I used Glossy Accents if I was gluing to a non-porous surface and Tombo Mono Multi; if I was gluing paper to paper.

CONSTRUCTING THE BOOK

• I started by inking all the surfaces of the dominoes with Silver Alcohol Mixative Ink.  I used a wooden handle with a piece of felt attached to apply the ink.  I choose this method as the ink goes on with a smooth finish.

• I added gold stickers to the front and sides of the dominoes.

The Closures

• To accommodate the chains and jewelry clasps (which keeps the book closed) I bent fold over bails and glued them to the sides of the dominoes.  You will need 4 bails glued to the middle of each long side of both dominos.  Add the chains to the bails before gluing them to the dominos.  That way you won’t be putting extra pressure on the bails trying to attach the chain.  Once your book is done you can trim your chain to the proper length (to close the book) and add the jewelry clasps to each chain.  I attached the two chains to the bails glued to the front domino.

• An alternative closure is to use ribbon instead of chain.  Another alternative would be to use ribbon without the fold over bails by gluing ribbon to the backside of each domino before adding paper etc. (see the picture below).

Painting the Arches and Embellishments

• I painted all of the Masonite gothic arches red; this includes the ones for the front of the dominoes and the ones for the pages inside the dominoes.  The arches come in a package of 10 and include various designs.  These are the same arches I used to make bay windows for the large Victorian Toy Shop Diorama.

• I glued a Masonite Gothic arch to the front of each of the dominoes. 
• I painted the various embellishments using acrylic paint.  If this had been something that would be worn as jewelry I would have used products that are made for metal.  But since this was an art project I went with acrylics.
• After the metal embellishments had dried, I attached all of the dangling bits like beads, snowflakes and chain to all of the embellishments etc.

The Clock

• To make the clock I glued a clock button into a round pendant.  The clock had a clear domed covering.  To create even more of a dome, I filled the round pendant with Glossy Accents and allowed it to dry.

• I attached all of the metal embellishments to the front and back arch/domino book covers using E 6000 glue and allowed them to dry.  To get the strongest bond with E6000 glue you need to let it dry 24 hours or more depending on the dampness of your climate.

Toy Shoppe and Closed Dec 25 Signs

I made the Toy Shoppe sign out of a crest pendant and a cotter pin.  I glued the wording into the crest and filled it with Glossy Accents.  I attached the shield to the cotter pin and glued the cotter pin to the top of the back domino using E 6000.  I made the Closed Dec 25 sign out of crest tag and hung from one of the closure chains.

Below is the wording I used for the signs.  They are sized to fit the pendants so feel free to download and use them.

Gothic Arch Pages

• You need an even number of arches for the book to accordion fold properly.  I would suggest using 2 or 4 arches.  More arches and the book gets really thick and unwieldy.
• Glue the images and a piece of decorative paper to the backs of the 4 center arches. 
• I attached the baroque scroll with loops with connecting chains and holly charms to the tops of the arches before hinging them together. 

 Assembling the Book

• Here is where patience is important.  As you attach each hinge you need to give it plenty of time to dry before attaching the next hinge.  You need to use very strong glue like E6000.  The other important thing to be mindful of is the direction of the hinges.  Each hinge you attach should fold in the opposite direction of the hinge before it.  It is really easy to attach the hinges incorrectly (I did).
• The hinge closes in only one direction.  In the first picture below I show the hinge closing towards you.  I show this so you know what I mean when I explain how to hinge the book together.

• In the picture below the hinge is reversed from the picture above and the hinge closes away from you.

• You can either assemble the book starting from the front domino and working your way from left to right assembling each piece (one at the time and allowing it to dry) or if you feel confident you can assemble the book starting at both ends and meet in the middle.  This option is also faster.
• As you assemble the pieces (dominoes and arches) make sure that they are level at the bottom so that you book will stand on its own.
• For the purpose of this tutorial I’m going to describe the order of assembly from left to right using 4 arches as in the sample book.  You will need 5 hinges.  Between each step allow the glue to dry completely which is probably at least 24 hours.  You can also consult the diagram below for hinge placement.

 1^st Hinge – Closes Towards You

Attach a hinge to the front domino
Attach the 1^st arch to the hinge attached to the front domino
2^nd Hinge – Closes Away From You
Attach a hinge to the 1^st arch
Attach the 2^nd arch to the hinge attached to the 1st arch
3^rd Hinge Closes Towards You
Attach a hinge to the 2^nd arch
Attach the 3rd arch to the hinge attached to the 2nd arch
4^th Hinge Closes Away From You
Attach a hinge to the 3rd^th arch
Attach the 4^th arch to the hinge attached to the 3^rd arch
5^th Hinge - Closes Towards You
Attach a hinge to the 4^th arch

Attach the back domino to the hinge attached to the 4^th arch. 

• Now that your book is assembled you can add decorative paper to the inside of each domino and backs of the arches.  The paper will hide some of the hinges depending on which direction they fold. 
• On the sample, I added decorative paper inside each domino.  On the front domino I also added the “The Toy Shoppe” verbiage and some snowflake charms.  On the back domino I added gold stickers and the image of the boy and girl.  Notice how the paper covers part of the hinge attached to each domino.
• On the backs of the inside arches I added a piece of decorative paper, gold stickers and images.  Notice in the picture below how the paper covers part of the hinge attached to each arch.  I used a separate arch as a template to cut the decorative paper to size before gluing it in place.

Alpha Stamps Products Used

Dominoes Full Size - You’ll need 2

Alcohol Inks Mixtative Silver – Used to color dominoes

Dazzles Medallions Sticker Set – Edge of dominoes

Set of Fancy Gothic Windows

Small Gold Hinges – You’ll need 5

Small Fold Over Bails – Used to hold the chain – You’ll need 4

Items used on the front and back of the domino book

Metallic Stickers – Fans Gold – Used on the fronts of the dominoes

Lydia Connector – Antique Gold – You’ll need 2

Ornate Round Mini Pendants

Clock Face Buttons Tiny

Nutcracker Charms

Cast Brass Beads with Loops

Small Silver Snowflake Charm

Candy Cane Charms

Wreath Charms

Ensign Crest Pendants - Toy Shoppe sign

Ensign Crest Tags – Closed Dec 25

Cotter Pins – Toy Shoppe Sign

Items used inside the domino book

Holly Charms – Between the gothic windows

Dazzles Gold Holly Stickers – Inside of back domino

Baroque Scroll With Loop – Top of each gothic window

Liquid Pearls Ocean Blue

Collage Sheets

Winter Kids – Boy and girl inside book and girl on back of book

Snow Collage Sheet – Back of book

Snug in their Beds Collage Sheet – Back of book and bear.

Christmas Dolls - Dolls

Hanging by the Chimney with Care – Doll and train

Victorian Umbrella Kids – Back of book

Click here to download a PDF Version of this Tutorial