On the Seventh day of Christmas with DCWV....

... I made this little shadow book that can hold so many memories!

So glad you could join

DCWV

for our

12 Days of Christmas!
 

 I am day Seven!

I wanted to make something a bit different than a card, or a layout (and since I have no swans a swimmin' to speak of, or seven of any bird for that matter)

I decided to make a nice keepsake book/box as a decorator piece for the holidays!

 

 

I decorated the front of an old book with the gorgeous vintage paper from the

Chrismas Combo Stack, 2012. 

With 180 pages of beautiful holiday papers to choose from, you can't go wrong!

I cut the adorable little stockings out of the "Winter Holiday" stack, and finished it off with a pretty white bow and gold trim paint.

(You can't tell, but my fireplace is the brown pattern paper run

through a "brick" embossing die!)

 

 

When you open the book, it has become a 3 dimensional frame

with a small scene inside.

 Here's where the swans come into play!

 

The secret to this project is PATIENCE.

I drew my area to be cut out on the top page, and then cut through as many layers with an Exacto knife as possible. Little by little, you make your way through the pages of the book. I stopped about 1/2 inch from the bottom so that my background had some padding behind it.

Decorate the back of what will be your shadow-box, making sure you have absolutely EVERYTHING you want included before this next step.

 

 

For my "shadow box book", I included a stamped, heat embossed and decorated Christmas tree, some white paint and snow, and popped up a lady swan.

 

Only then do you glue an acetate sheet over the top and start decorating the front cover of your frame.

I also glued all of the bottom-section pages together (yes, more patience) and painted the sides lightly with gold paint to give a more antique appearance.

The large swan on the outside is also cut twice and popped up.

 

These old books can be recycled to hold keepsakes and memories of many types.

See where your imagination can take you!

 

The pictures of this were the most difficult I have ever tried to take. Between the acetate reflecting my lights, and the day being so very gloomy and dark, this is the best I could do.

 

But the feeling of the holiday and the old-timey wholesomeness of the poem still comes through....

"seven swans a'swimming...., "

 

Please check back tomorrow at DCWV to see what the Eighth Day of Christmas brings!

 

To join in on the fun over at Top Tip Tuesdays, I entered this project on their weekly challenge!

Happy Holidays!

~Jan~