Loads of people said very nice things about my Sherlock Altoid tin yesterday. There were a few inquiries as to if the tin was for sale, or if others would be available. Unfortunately I am quite greedy and will be keeping the tin for myself and it may be a while before I make another BUT....
I do love you for encouraging the fan-girl in me (although I am far too old for it) so, I spent the day making something especially for you. I believe that every last person should have a little 221B to fit in their pocket so I came up with a matchbook version you can create for yourself. It's not as detailed as the tin, but it's cute as a button and you'll be able to make one in no time at all
Are you ready? Here we go...
Download THIS template. Be sure when you print that it is at 100% scale. Fair warning: you will very likely have to do some fiddling around to get things to fit perfectly... I would suggest a trial run.
Let's start with the outside of the matchbox. Here I've cut out the pieces to the door...
... then glued them to the reverse side of piece of black paper.
Using a very sharp blade I cut out the pieces carefully using the template as a guide. When I turn the pieces over, I have perfectly cut black paper pieces.
I gather all of my pieces together, along with a small piece of transparency with a black pattern on it. This is for the window above the door but you could leave it blank. I also grab the outside sleeve of my matchbox. Notice that small patch of white paper on the sleeve? That just hides the packaging where the window above the door is.
I assemble to door, gluing the layers in place. Large piece, transparency, door with cutouts (small blocks on the top) and finally the smallest plain rectangle. This then gets glued behind the large white cutout doorway, like this...
Center the door on the front of the matchbox sleeve and wrap the paper around the box. You will need to trim the ends as I've left loads of excess... just in case. Finally, I've added a sliver of gold trim for the mail slot, and a tiny piece of bent wire for the knocker. I've added trim along the top and inked the bottom edge to give a more finished look.
You might notice that my door looks wet. To hide any white paper edges that might be visible, I've given the door a wash of black paint.
Let your exterior dry and move on to the inside!
Begin by lining the inside drawer with black paper, trimming away the excess.
Next cut out the interior fireplace wall and fold it along the lines like this...
It really helps if you have a score board or bone folder. If not, GENTLY score with a sharp blade along the fold lines and fold... if you don't go too deep with the blade you should have nice crisp folded edges.
Insert the two bookshelf strips into the valleys then...
... affix your folded piece into your matchbook drawer like this. If you have trouble with your paper cracking, you can give a wash of very thin paint to give an aged look and camouflage the cracking.
Add the lower bookshelf inserts. While they are drying, you can paint/stain a matchstick a woody sort of colour and chop it into bits for your fireplace mantle.
As those little pieces dry, paint/stain a coffee stir stick and cut it into small pieces to use as shelves. **These sticks are great for crafting. They are much easier to cut than Popsicle sticks and not nearly as thick. If you can't find them in a craft shop, definitely swipe a few next time you see them in a cafe!
Put a tiny dab or two of white glue along three edges of your little 'shelves' and push them into place. While waiting for them to dry, lets make our teeny weeny books. Start with a long, very narrow slip of paper (about 1/8th of an inch).
Cover both sides with a thin layer of glue and accordion fold then press.
Don't worry about being perfect. You want a little variation so that the edge looks like a pile of books.
Using different weights, lengths and colours will give a nice varied look to your library. Rub a little brown or black paint along 'spine' edge to add depth. Put a little dab of glue on the bottom of your book stacks and push them onto the tiny shelves. Add tiny stacks of paper too.
Finally, for the mirror above the mantle I've simply cut a tiny square of tin foil and glued it in place.
All that's left is to wait for that bad boy to dry and you've got your own little 221B Baker Street to fit inside your pocket and carry with you all day long.
Smmoooches to you, and thanks for being so nice :) xoxo
