Stoic Witch

Hello everyone, welcome to Stoic Witch Crafts. Today I’ll show you how I made a secret storage box in the dark academia style, shaped like old books, from old cardboard.

I started by making a box the size I wanted the books to be and to make it look realistic. You can, of course, also use a ready-made box in a size you find suitable. I didn’t have a suitable box, so I made my own. It’s essentially a stack of three books on top of each other.

I made the box for this project before I even knew I was going to start this YouTube channel, so I don’t have any video footage of the process, but I think you get the idea.

I used an old cereal box to shape the curves of the book spines because it’s nice, flexible cardboard. I should have put the smooth side on the inside, but I accidentally put it the other way around, so I have to deal with that now.

In this video, I started with some damage control, so the lid could open a bit further. I was a bit too enthusiastic with my glue gun. As you can see, the lid actually closes because I glued strips of cardboard into the lid, fitting perfectly into the box, keeping it secure.

First, I made the covers between the books from narrow strips of cardboard so it really looks like three books stacked on top of each other.

I used foam and ribbed paper I had lying around to simulate the pages, I am cutting them all to size.

I finished the cardboard edges by covering them with napkins I had lying around, using Mod Podge. I also covered the entire front and back with napkins. The napkins I used have a nice texture, which makes the covers look more realistic.

I covered the spines of the books with fabric, also using Mod Podge. Be sure to keep the hinge free of Mod Podge, otherwise the lid won’t open once it hardens.

My cat Lucifer loves it when I’m crafting and always comes to inspect everything.

I glue the foam and paper pages to the box with craft glue. Some parts didn’t stick well, so I used some superglue to fix them.

Once everything is completely dry, I paint the entire book (except the pages) with black chalk paint. Then I paint the pages with white chalk paint. I then noticed that the parts I’d made with paper were starting to bulge a bit, so I’ll definitely use only foam next time. To get a truly good color, I had to apply two coats.

I gave the pages a slightly yellowed color with acrylic paint to really create the look of old books. Then I carefully touched up the black edges with black acrylic paint. Finally, I tried to make the texture of the cover more visible with gray acrylic paint.

I painted the inside completely black with black chalk paint.

Then I painted the titles of classic ghost stories on the covers with gold acrylic paint. On the spines, I used a gold marker to write the authors’ names. This turned out to be a mistake because the marker wasn’t Mod Podge-proof. I had to redo the names later, this time with the same gold acrylic paint. I thought it would be easy, but easy isn’t always the best choice.

After that, I gave the entire project a coat of glossy Mod Podge and let it dry completely.

Well, that’s it, that’s all. I hope you enjoyed this video. Let me know in the comments. And I would really appreciate it if you subscribed to my channel and liked this video. It would really help me grow my channel. Thank you, and until next time, bye!

Lillith