It feels good to accomplish a project that has been in the works for a couple of years. This project was certainly no exception. 

One of the reasons this project took so long is the fact that sound activated lights are hard to come by. I usually see them around Halloween and last year I didn't get around to making the purchase in time. But this year I did!

This inner workings of this paper mâché book box was also something I had to think about for a while. How would I access the lights and sound module to change the batteries? How would I get the lights to show through?

These were all things I played around with and both aspects went through several changes before my final placement.Below is a photo of the inner workings and how I set it up. The sound chip is mounted to an old ribbon spool to pop it up far enough for the light sensor to be about the same level as the piece of chipboard and vellum that gets placed over the top. 

I used foam board to crate the inner box and added some around the side for the overlay to sit on top. I decided not to glue my overlay down in case I ever needed to get back inside, but I also cut an access door in the back to change out batteries easily. I also added a a drop of red alcohol ink to each light because otherwise, they would have been warm white. I really wanted to play up the red on the inside!

And of course, this blog post isn't complete without a little video of the sound activated lights in action. Check out short video clip below!

First, I painted the entire outside of the box with black gesso as a base. (I also painted a little on the inside as well.) The outside of the box is covered in strips of black paper that have been embossed with the Tim Holtz Lumber 3D Texture Fade folder. I rubbed Distress Oxide in Walnut Stain over the top of the embossed papers and it created this gorgeous grayed wood look. I cut the embossed paper into strips and glued them down using Distress Collage Medium. 

The spine of this paper mâché book box got a layer of Deep Waters Metallic Acrylic Paint and then some gold wax. I cut out "Poe"with a Tim Holtz letter die and a heart from glitter cardstock and glued it on with Glossy Accents. 

I covered all my resin pieces in black gesso before applying Finnabair metallic waxes to the pieces. The outside piece, Ancient Soul II, is from Relics and Artifacts and was covered with gold and mystic teal waxes. I added some Tim Holtz Skeleton Leaves cut from the Abandoned paper stash as well as some black Kaisercraft flowers.

I also added a Tim Holtz Small Talk sticker that I cut into three parts as well as a set of silver Corners to give a more book-like appearance. I also added a strip of black trim to the binding side of the book to cover the transition of embossed paper to painted spine and added on a few crystals from Prima. 

To finish off the look of the outside of the box, I added some turquoise blue gems to his eyes with Finnabair's Heavy Body Gel. In the Tell Tale Heart Poem, the main character describes seeing his victim's blue eyes haunting him. 

Now for the inside! First, I printed a photo of Poe on a laser printer. I covered the inside over with a paper from the Materialize Halloween paper stash by Tim Holtz, cutting an oval hole in the center to place Poe's photo under. I then used pieces of his Halloween Collage Paper to create a distressed look. (Victorians were notorious for their love of collaging, by the way, so it only seemed appropriate.) 

To cover the edges and make the transition more seamless, I cut out lacy borders in smooth black cardstock from Tim's Crochet die cut set, gluing these down with Distress Collage Medium. 

I then added some mummy cloth and black and white bakers twine to a Halloween Quote Token covered in gold and red wax. I glued it down using a large foam square. Using a needle and some excess mummy cloth thread, I sewed on a Halloween Story Stick. 

Finally, the crowning jewel of this book box. I cut out a piece of chipboard to fit inside the box. Using a craft knife, I cut out a section that would allow the lights to peak through. I painted both pieces of chipboard with black gesso and then applied a piece of Abandoned paper to the inner piece. Then, I used Distress Ink in Fired Brick and a Tim Holtz Blending Brush to add color to a piece of white vellum. Using a glue runner, I adhered the vellum to both pieces of chipboard, covering the opening. 

To allow the light sensor to tell when the box was opened and thus activating the heartbeat, I needed to punch a hole in the middle piece of chipboard. There is a rubber cover that goes over this sensor during shipping to keep the batteries from being used up. I placed that on the sensor then applied some metallic silver ink to the rubber cover. I placed the chipboard on top, allowing the ink to press onto the backside of the chipboard. This would allow me to know where I needed to punch a hole. Using a punch tool and hammer, I then punched a hole where the ink was. 

I covered both the hand and the heart with black gesso and then red and gold waxes. I used heavy body gel to glue them both down. Finally, I added a Halloween Quote Chip that I distressed the edges of and two Tim Holts Metallic Droplets under the heart. 

I hope this project really inspires you to take some creative leaps. I'd never worked with a light activated sound chip before and it was a lot of fun to figure this project out as I went. 

Happy Crafting!

Adrienne

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Below are products that I used or similar products.