Wicked Halloween Explosion Box with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

Hi everyone!  I hope your week is going well, and I have just one question … are you ready for Fall?  I sure am!  So today, I wanted to share a fun project using Gypsy Soul Laser Cut's Double Explosion Box. 

There are three boxes (upper left) and two lids (lower right).

Run a strip of washi tape over score lines on outside of box, as shown.  Fold box up to allow tape to stretch, then lay it flat again. 

Cut four pieces of floral print paper a scant less than 3" square to fit around the outside of the large box.  Distress the edges with Black Soot Distress Ink (DI) and run through your Xyron 3" sticker maker, or use whatever adhesive you have on hand. 

Adhere pieces to box sides, as shown.  Cut one piece of script paper a scant less than 3" square to fit the bottom of the large box.  Repeat distress inking the paper before applying the adhesive.  

Glue to box as shown.  Do not cover fold lines.

Repeat process for inside area of base box using harlequin paper.  

Cover center of box with damask print paper, as shown.

Cover the score lines with washi tape, as before.  Cover the box lid with flocked dots paper, as shown.  Do not cover the fold lines with the paper.  Distress the paper edges with black soot DI.  Leave tabs free to add glue for assembly.

Add glue to the box top tabs and glue lid together. Let glue dry, then cover inside with flocked damask paper, as shown.

Here is what the lid looks like when placed over the explosion box pieces.

For next smaller box, cut five pieces of script paper a scant less than 2-1/2" square and adhere to inside box, as shown.

Cover scored edges of box bottom with washi tape, as shown, and repeat process by folding sides up to stretch tape.  Lay box flat.

Cut four pieces of striped paper a scant less than 2-1/2" square and adhere to outside of box, as shown.  Add glue to center bottom of box, as shown.

Adhere to center section of larger box base, as shown.

Cover outside only of smallest box and lid, as shown.

Glue the bottom box to the center of the explosion box, as shown.  (NOTE:  It was not necessary to cover the bottom of this box since it is being glued down).

Mark an "X" on the inside of  the lid, and use a craft knife to cut an "X" in the center.  Use an awl to start and enlarge the hole in the center, as shown.

Insert a small battery-operated tea light into the hole in the lid opening, as shown.

When you are ready to turn on the tea light, you can do so easily by opening the box lid and turning the on/off switch.  You can also change the batteries easily, too.  The purpose of this box is only to house the tea light.

Paint four 5mm wooden balls with Smokey Quartz glitter paint, let dry. 

Adhere wooden balls to bottom of large box, as shown.

Paint spider web corners, spider, raven, mouse, black cat, BOO!, and scrap of chainlink panel with black paint.  Let that coat dry, then paint pieces with black glitter paint.  

Adhere two corner spider webs to middle box, as shown.  Only add glue to outer edge of web to allow it to serve as a pocket so you can insert bits of ephemera or tags, etc.  On remaining two flaps, add black German Dresden border strip, gluing only the edges to serve as a band to hold more ephemera.  I added a tiny piece of mummy cloth around the tea light bulb to add some texture.

Cut four strips of orange webbing ribbon to 3".  Distress the webbing with Vintage Photo DS, let dry.

Make four coffin shaped tags to fit the largest box flaps, which is 3".  Decorate the front with stamped and fussy cut images.

On the reverse, add labels cut from one of the papers in the Halloween stash pad and adhere to the back of each coffin tag.

Adhere the orange webbing pieces to the outer flaps, adhering only along the sides.  Add labels over the webbing, as shown.  Insert coffin tags beneath webbing to hold in place.

Continue adding ephemera, as shown.  Slip pieces beneath corner spider webs and the Dresden borders.  Glue metal apothecary mask over tea light bulb.

Tea light off

Tea light turned on

Close box up and add Zombie hand to box top with tiny bit of moss around it.  Place "BOO!" iside hand, as shown.  Run black trim around the box top, tie a knot at the front corner, and add Wicked token to trim.  Finish decorating the outside panels with the remaining chippies ... cut chickenwire panel into smaller pieces and adhere to each side with either the mouse, the raven, the spider, or the cat.   See photos below for placement.

Supplies Used:

GSL Double Explosion Box
GSL Chainlink 8 by 8 Inch Panel
GSL Spiders and Webs (coming soon)
GSL Creepy Critters
GSL Spooky Shape Set
Xyron 3" Sticker Maker
German Dresden Border (Black)
Tim Holtz Halloween Stash 8x8 paper pad
Tim Holtz Halloween Trimmings
Tim Holtz Halloween Tokens
Tim Holtz Halloween Design Tape
Tim Holtz Halloween Mummy Cloth
Tim Holtz Halloween Zombie Hands
Tim Holtz Black Soot Distress Ink
Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Stain
Recollections 520886 Halloween Clear Stamp and Die Set
VersaFine Vintage Sepia ink pad
Black Archival ink pad
Black acrylic paint
Martha Stewart Black glitter paint
Martha Stewart Smokey Quartz glitter paint
White glue
Wooden small round beads (ArtMinds)

Well, thanks for sticking with me again.  If you made it to here, you got to see all the fun pictures and cool Halloween ephemera.  I have to admit, this is my favorite time of year.  I love making Halloween items, and I hope I've inspired you to check out the really cool stuff in the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts online shop.  And don't forget to check out the blog, too.  There is tons of inspiration from the rest of the fabulous design team.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a super crafty week!

Barbara