September 19, 2015

Laura Denison Designs Project - Hidden Treasures Mini Album Cabinet

I always enjoy making Laura Denison's projects and this one was especially fun with all the little miniatures.

The pattern for this project is available on LauraDenisonDesigns.com and the specific link is included at the end of this post.

I used Bo Bunny's Genevieve paper collection for the project.  Something about the blues and yellows just said "cabinet" to me.

It's a pretty good-sized project - approximately 10 x 10 x 5 1/2", not including the pediment.



And there is a very good reason for the size... it's to hold the hidden treasure!



The cabinet pulls open to the left and the right to reveal a large compartment. That compartment is sized to store a generous "mini" album.  Laura designed an album especially for this project "Treasured Memories".

You can't see it very well from this angle, but the "birds" section is actually the wide compartment.




Here's a view that shows one of the sides.

See the handle?  That's how you open the cabinet... by pulling on each of the handles.

And don't worry about pulling too far.  Laura designed the project so that can't happen.

On the top of the cabinet is a pediment that is actually cut down the center so it splits when the cabinet is opened.

The little circular embellishment was made from an element from the pattern paper and various circles of cardstock. It is attached to the left side and not only adds interest but also helps camouflage the split between the sides.






The center of the cabinet features display shelves behind "glass" (actually acrylic) windows.

Also on the front is a swing clasp that holds the cabinet together when it is in the closed position.

The mullions are thin strips of cardstock adhered to the windows.

Each of the shelves have various miniatures on display.











I took some pictures before adding the front facade so you could have a better look at the objects inside.





On the top left is a piece of metal I had leftover from another project. All of the bottles on the shelves were created from two or three different beads glued together.

The books are several layers of chipboard with pattern paper covers and lined paper to create the illusion of pages.

The bookends are little cubes of chipboard decorated with paper and a gold painted Tim Holtz Hitch Fastener is on top.

The larger plates were cut from the Bo Bunny paper.  The smaller plates are simply two circles of cardstock to which I applied some Diamond Glaze so they would look like china.

There are two shelves with bird pictures but the glare on the acrylic kind of make them hard to see. Here's a better picture of one of the framed bird pictures.

I found a copyright-free bluebird image on the internet and sized it to fit a tiny frame.  Then
I created the frame from chipboard with some pattern paper. A small piece of acrylic between the image and the frame completes the item.

(And I wish I had telescopic eyes so I would have seen the top bead on that bottle is off-center...oh well)


On the lower shelves there are more of the same items plus a couple of purchased embellishments.

The tree was a pendant. I clipped the top loop off and then backed it with some blue cardstock.

The etched piece on the lower left was originally silver and I just colored it with some alcohol inks.
I added some cardstock to give it a framed look.



I've got a couple of other projects in the works, but hope to get to creating the "Treasured Memories" Mini Album that fits inside the cabinet real soon.

I made several YouTube videos for this project:

First there is a Completed Project Tour:


And then if you are interested in seeing how I made all the little doo-dads, I created a video named "Cabinet Treasures":


And last (but certainly not least!!), here is the direct link to the Hidden Treasures Mini Album Cabinet pattern on LauraDenisonDesigns.com

I hope you've enjoyed this project.  Please visit Laura Denison's site for lots and lots of great patterns, videos, shopping and more.

Thanks for visiting!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very well written. Wonderful description and videos. You have done a Great Job !! Beautiful Project.

PaulaB quilts said...

April, This is the loveliest creation I can imagine. The details are so cleverly done and the blue and white patterns used are beautiful. Your attention to detail in the items on the shelves is amazing. I just love it, can't wait to see more.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful project! Love all the small details thanks for sharing your work and talent!