Seashore Lighthouse

Hello everyone!

I have a new project to share with you today that I call the "Seashore Lighthouse".

I modeled the design of this project after several lighthouses off the east coast of the United States.

The project features a Prima paper collection named "Seashore" which was just perfect for this theme, don't you think?

From the base to the top finial on the light tower, the project stands about 20" high.  The base is roughly octagon shaped and is 12" x 13".

Inside of the foundation there is room for a mini-album and we'll see more on that later.

Here is a side view which shows how both the entrance section and the light tower fit into the main building structure.

The main building is a little over two stories tall, and the light tower is three stories plus the light cupola.

On each side of the main building there is a chimney.

Here is a photo from the back where you can clearly see the tower.

The windows on the third floor have arched tops.

The base of the tower starts off as a square, and then turns into an octagon above the second story.

From the light deck up, the entire cupola - deck, structure and roof - are all octagons.



Let's take a closer look at some of the details, starting at the base.

The lighthouse foundation is surrounded by rocks to protect the structure from the crashing waves.

The "rocks" I used are actually small acrylic cubes that I painted with chalk paint to get the rocky look.  I used acrylic to keep the weight of the project down.

The foundation is also an octagon.  I embossed the pattern paper with a stone embossing folder which I inked to emphasize the stone texture.

Also at sea level is a small landing.  Here I definitely took some liberties from the designs of the actual lighthouses - It would be difficult to dock a boat and carry anything up the ladder that we see here.  I used some artistic license I guess you could say.

The ladder has chipboard sides and 1/8"dowels for rungs.  It is held in place with one small magnet at the top.  It needs to be removable to make it easier to lift off the main lighthouse platform and gain access to the inside of the foundation.

Here we are at the front door.

We have a couple of little steps leading up to a simple paneled door.

There's also a little awning sheltering the door.

Around the main platform of the lighthouse is a fence or railing.  It was made with a Spellbinders die - Wrought Iron die.  I cut it from cardstock twice and then glued the two layers together to give it some sturdiness.

The ends of the fence near the ladder are attached to toothpicks that were inserted into the platform to give the necessary support.

Here you can see some of roof angles coming together.

This photo also gives you a good look at how the chimneys fit in, and the little side roofs under them.

Here's the same section of the structure from the tower side.

You can clearly see how the tower transitions from a square to the octagon above the rectangular second story windows.

All of the windows were simply sut into the facades and then the pattern paper was wrapped to the inside.  The windowpanes are think acrylic and were backed with brown cardstock.  Cream cardstock was used for the trim, and a little chipboard ledge is also under each of the windows/

Now we're up to the light on top of the tower.

I used the same die for the fence around the deck.

The light structure has chipboard walls below and above acrylic panels.

The chipboard roof is removable to access the light to turn it on and off, and remove it for recharging.

The light is actually made for the purpose of inserting into an emty wine bottle (see the cork end?) to make a decorative lamp for your home.  I was looking for an alternative to an LED tea light and found these online.  As an added bonus, the light separated from the cork end and has a USB connector and can be recharged.

Here's a fun "bird's-eye" view of the project.










And now, onto the mini-album.

When we pick up the lighthouse, you can see the mini-album stored in the foundation.

You can see the walls have some thickness to make sure the foundation can support the lighthouse.

The mini-album is about 8" tall and 6"wide.

It can expand to 3" wide to accommodate lots of photos and journaling cards.

The album of course features more of the super Prima "Seashore" paper collection, as well as accessories that you will see as we turn each page.

Here on the front I've used some of the chipboard elements.  I've also created a pocket for some tags and photo mats.

Here's a closeup of the spine.

I reinforced each of the cardstock hinges with some Tyvek that I colored with Distress Ink.

There are two ribbon closures that are adjustable so the spine can be the proper width for all the inserts,

I used twill tape and colored it with Distress Stain to match the color scheme of the paper.

You can also see in this view the front and back covers made of chipboard and in between standing above each pocket page is the top of a large tag.

Now let's open up the book...

On the inside front cover there is a pocket with an 1/8" gusset that can hold many photo mats.

On the front of the first pocket page there is a flap with one of the 4x6 cards from the paper collection.

The flap is held closed with a magnet.

That flap opens up to reveal two pockets and then a space with a decorative paperclip that holds more photo mats.

The flower you see at the top is decorating the large tag that slides into a vertical pocket.

Turning the page, we have an interactive element on both the left and the right.

On the left, a magnet holds a top and bottom flap together, and on the right there is a flap with three small pockets for tags.  Behind those pockets is another of the decorative paper clips.

Each of these are held closed with magnets.

Here I've opened up the left side and also removed the large tag from the vertical pocket.

Flipping the page, we find two more styles of interaction...

On the left, a simple corner pocket, and on the right a cascade of photo mats.

The top photo mat has a magnet to keep this page neat and tidy.

Here's the cascade effect.

We've reached the middle of the album, and now the interactive elements repeat...

First another cascade of photo mats and a coner pocket...

... then a flap with three tiny pockets on the left and one of the top-bottom enclosures on the right...

,,, and then finally on the last page we have a flap with tow pockets on the left and the gusseted pocket on the inside back cover.









I hope you've enjoyed this project.  If you are interested in making your own lighthouse or a mini-album like the one I have here, I should have the Materials and Cutting Guide and construction videos completed within the next week.

In the meantime, I filmed videos of the completed lighthouse and mini album and links to those videos on YouTube are below.

Lighthouse Video


Mini Album Video


Thanks for visiting.
-April