Artfully Musing: REGENCY CHRISTMAS THEMED ATC BOOKCASE AND BOOK BOXES

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

REGENCY CHRISTMAS THEMED ATC BOOKCASE AND BOOK BOXES – NEW COLLAGE SHEETS

Tis the season to be jolly, and I’m kicking things off with a versatile bookcase project. I say versatile because this has so many possibilities. Since we are in the height of the holiday season, I decided to go with a regency period Christmas theme because the Regency period is my favorite; it’s a Jane Austen thing.

The generous side and back areas were perfect for creating scenes using my four new holiday collage sheets. And speaking of new collage sheets, Alpha Stamps is giving one of them away free with purchase; you'll find the details below.

You can store all kinds of goodies in the spacious drawer at the bottom of the bookcase.

This bookcase just happens to be perfect for storing and displaying ATCs. The books you see displayed in the cabinet are ATC sized, and I’ve used them in a variety of ways. One book is an accordion folded book displaying ATCs, one contains a stack of ATCs, and one is a shadow box book.

SHADOW BOX BOOK

ACCORDION FOLD ATC BOOK

ATC STORAGE BOOK

With all of the lovely new holiday vintage scrapbook papers that Alpha Stamps is carrying and my new collage sheet images, I couldn’t resist putting together a few ATCs.

If ATCs are not your thing, I’ve staged the bookcase as a mini secretary. This bookcase would also work fabulously for storing and displaying this and future season's Christmas cards.

NEW COLLAGE SHEETS

WINTER IS HERE COLLAGE SHEET

This collage sheet contains 9 regency period (Jane Austen) images of women and men in winter fashions surrounded by various-sized and shaped snowflakes. Click on the image below to purchase this sheet.

TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY COLLAGE SHEET

This sheet contains 6 regency period (Jane Austen) images of women, men, and children dressed for the holiday and various seasonal decorations. Click on the image below to purchase this sheet.

BRING US SOME FIGGY PUDDING COLLAGE SHEET

This sheet contains 6 regency periods (Jane Austen), women, children, and men celebrating all the good things of the season, such as music and seasonal food. Other complementary items include musical instruments, sheet music, a wreath of fruit, frames, banners, birds, and tasty treats. Click on the image below to purchase this sheet.

HOLIDAY WREATHS COLLAGE SHEET

On this sheet, you’ll find 12 unique festive wreaths, with most in 3 different sizes that would work for smaller projects. Click on the image below to purchase this sheet.

THE DETAILS

Below you’ll find some details on how I made various components of this project.

THE BOOKCASE WITH A DRAWER

The bookcase is made from an easy-to-assemble kit. The main structure consists of a base, two sides, a back piece, a top piece and a center shelf.

The spacious drawer consists of a base and four side pieces, with one piece pre-drilled to accommodate a knob.

I started by assembling the main structure and drawer. I then painted any parts that were not going to be papered and added decorative paper. The last step was adding images from the collage sheets to the bookcase's sides, back, and top. I also added dimensional elements like greenery and birds.

ATC BOOKS

The ATC Books come in a simple to assemble kit. There are pieces for the deep side of the book, a cover, and a spine.

I made three books for this project, each demonstrating a possible use. In one book, I stored a stack of ATCs; in another, I inserted paper that was accordion folded for attaching ATCs, and in the last one is a shadow box book.

To bind together the accordion folded book example, I used bookbinding tape, also called paper tape. The tape has sturdy fabric on one side and adhesive on the other. You can purchase it online or at bookbinding stores; it comes in different colors. I usually stick with white for more flexibility, as it can be colored with paint or stained, it can be stamped, or you can apply rub-on.

For two of the books, I used ribbon as closure by gluing it to the front and back of the book before adding paper and collage sheet images. For all of the books, I glued the spine to the side of the back section of the book.

To attach the paper tape, I first cut a section based on the size of the book. I removed the backing from the adhesive side of the tape and attached it to the front of the book. Next, I wrapped the tape around the spine and then around to the back of the book.

I inked the tape and added paper, collage sheet images, and other embellishments to the book's front, back, and spine.

SHADOWBOX BOOK WITH TABLE & CLOCK

To create the table for the shadowbox, I used a die-cut chipboard image of a table that comes as part of a set of furniture. I cut off the bottom of the legs as the table would have been too high for the opening of the book. Next, I cut a piece of heavy chipboard the width of the book opening and slightly shallower. Then, I slightly bent the table and glued it to the chipboard. For support, I attached square beads to the back of the table and to the tabletop.

The clock is also a die-cut image of a clock that comes as part of a different set of furniture. To make the clock more realistic, I added brass embellishments and gold stickers which I also added to the table.