Mad Hatter Tea Chest

Good morning, Readers! It is my turn again on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Blog! I had a blast making this Mad Hatter Tea Chest using the GSLCuts Treasure Chest (check availability at the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Store).

I decorated this little chest all in purple and black papers from the Graphic 45 Hallowe'en in Wonderland Deluxe Collector's Edition! (I confess, I still have the original paper from when this was released years ago! I hoarded a fair amount of it, never knowing that G45 would come out with Deluxe Editions of the older collections!) 

What is an Alice in Wonderland project without a few red hearts?! I added some purple flowers, plus the magical Alice in Wonderland Chipboard Silhouettes and the Tiny Alice Props from GSLCuts. 

The chest is 2 1/2" x 5 1/4" x 3 1/4" the way I have it assembled. It is perfect place to store some tea or coffee packets. (Or candy, for you non-tea drinkers!)

Let's get started making this project!

1. Remove the Treasure Chest pieces from the packaging and give them a good wipe with a damp cloth. (The laser cutting process generates a lot of soot!)

2. Spray the bottom of the chest, the lid "frame," and the thin pieces with black glitter mist. Allow to dry.

3. Cover the inside of the chest pieces with decorative paper. Use a gel medium (or similar product) to attach the paper to the chipboard. Sponge the edges with black ink.

4. Assemble the chest. Attach paper to the outside surfaces of the chest. Coat the outside surface of the box with gel medium to seal it. (You can see here that my gel is still wet. It will dry clear.) Spray the other side of the "frame" piece with black glitter mist and allow it to dry.

5. Glue the frame to the top of the box. (This is not how the box is to be assembled, but I decided that this is how I wanted it.) Cover both sides of the largest chipboard rectangle with paper. Glue the chest to the center of the piece. 

6. Glue the thin pieces of chipboard around the top and bottom of the chest as shown. Trim thin pieces of decorative paper and sponge the edges with black ink.

7. Wrap the thin chipboard pieces with the decorative paper and glue securely.

8. Cover both sides of the larger lid piece with paper and sponge the edges with black ink. Mark the center of the smaller lid piece and make a hole for the knob. Cover both sides of the smaller piece with paper and sponge the edges with black ink.

9. Attach the knob to the smaller lid piece. Glue the smaller lid to the larger lid, making sure to center it.

10. Place the lid onto the chest.

11. Choose decorative chipboard shapes from the Alice in Wonderland Chipboard Silhouettes, Tiny Alice Props, and Alice String Alongs. Spray some of the pieces with black glitter mist. Sponge others with purple or red ink.

12. Glue a selection of purple flowers to the left side of the lid. Add a few of the chipboard elements as shown.

13. Glue the White Rabbit and Mad Hatter silhouettes to the front of the box. Decorate them as desired. (In person, these are very sparkly! The camera had a hard time picking up the glitter!)

14. Fill your chest with tea and enjoy!

Thanks for looking!

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts:
Treasure Chest (coming soon)
Alice in Wonderland Chipboard Silhouettes
Tiny Alice Props (coming soon)

Partner Products: 
Graphic 45: Hallowe'en in Wonder Land Deluxe Collector's Edition, Rare Oddities 6x6 pad (retired)

Other: 
Spray mist: Tattered Angels Almost Black Glimmer Mist, Art Anthology Wild Orchid Colorations Spray
Ink: Ranger Distress Black Soot, Barn Door, Seedless Preserves
Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Metal knob: Tim Holtz
Adhesive: Liquitex gel medium, hot glue, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L 3D Foam Squares