Christmas Special: Doctor Who (gift box)

I know that I may get a lot of random traffic because of this tag, but you won't be disappointed! For a little Christmas gift, I crafted a very small TARDIS, "pop-up" box. From the beginning I knew I wanted it to be handmade, and have a flap or something that made it look "bigger on the inside." I have never done paper engineering before, beyond a few Valentine's and birthday cards, so this was completely new for me.

Dissecting small gift-boxes, I had a general idea of what to design and cut. After a few test-runs with normal printer paper, I finalized a design and cut it in thicker, cardstock paper with an Exact-o.

Tools:
Printer paper
Cardstock paper
Ruler
Exacto
Ruler
Pencil and eraser
Pilot Pen, Precise V5
Tape
Inkscape (free vector program)

Here are some photos for the finished product, way down below are templates, since I'm in the festive, gift-giving mood.

Later versions I will try and figure out the way to have the fully-detailed top of the TARDIS.

Good peek inside to the console of the TARDIS--Matt Smith's version.

Pull on the tab, and the full console illustration pops out for all to see. Could also be space for a personal message or note.

Here are rough instructions, as well as a variety of printable* templates (that I completed after I finished the "pop-up" TARDIS), to fit your wants, needs, abilities, and how far you want to push your printer--or inversely, how much of your own creativity you'd like to use.

*The PDFs may not be available when this posts.

[Rough instructions - My model was 1 in x 1 in x 1.75 in, and the templates are in no specific units, but the height is a full 2, instead of 1.75]

[Completely blank]

[Windows added]

[Color on revealed sections]

[Full color! This stops the use of console-view or written message. It becomes a box.]

Merry Christmas, DFTBA, and Allons-y!
-"Seattle Whispers"

Quilt Museum Project, Final Leg

I have one single panel to do, and I'm going to be updating an album with pictures of the work in progress on the Facebook page, Alex Kramer Blogs ["Like" button]

Link to all related posts here.

So, head to this album if you're interested!

Gaches Mansion Commission

Last Friday, I was showing my finished panels to a group of people from the Quilt & Textile Museum. I am almost finished with the first phase of this big project I'm doing with them. As we were winding down the director of the Museum, Liz, asked to see some of my sketches. As she browsed, she found a few sketches I had done a year ago that she had seen me working on. She asked if I could recreate the sketches on nice stock-paper for her. I said yes, and got to work during the weekend.

Here are the original sketches from long ago...

Liz really liked the Halloween look, as well as the cross-hatching I used for shading. At first I used a watered down ink with a nib, but it wasn't handling how I liked. So, I just grabbed my trusty ol' Pilot pen, and that worked beautifully. After taking some pre-sketch runs, I roughed it out in pencil.

Then afterwards I went over everything with the Pilot pen. I didn't even erase the pencil, but you can barely see it anyway.

Halloween Gaches (8" x 11"), September [10] 2011

Liz really enjoyed the finished piece, and said she was going to proudly frame and display it 

Quilt Museum Project, 9-8-11

Almost finished!!
I have three panels to finish (two of which are very close), and then focus all my efforts on the Quilt Museum piece. I'm hoping the Museum staff will be happy tomorrow with what I have to present to them.

Link to all related posts here.

Quilt Museum Project, 9-6-11

I sat myself down and did a good round of painting; ended up finishing two more panels, and almost a third. Taking a break to let panels dry and my wrist and shoulders recover. Trying to get as many panels finished before I meet with the museum on Friday.

Link to all related posts here.

My art table during this whole project--basically all summer.

For Alanna,

A sneak-peak at some items that have been in The Doctor's pockets, and just within the first rebooted season, with Christopher Eccleston. I'm working on compiling all of them in a big page.

Quilt Museum Project, 9-3-11

First post on this big Quilt Museum Project of September. I'm hoping to whittle down the "panels left" section in my project to almost nothing in the next few days.

Link to all related posts here.

Quilt Museum Project, 8-29-11

It's been about a week since I updated, so here's some more. I spent a few hours this evening painting and painting, while listening to music, silence, and the audiobook of The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood.

Link to all related posts here.

Quilt Museum Project, 8-21-11

Here are some progression pics, while I have a bit of down time before I continue. These were taken a few days ago, before my brief presentation to the Museum, but I've been away from the computer since then.

Link to all related posts here.

Above is my checklist for the project's progress. I think today I'll have at least two more panels sketched out and inked in, and more paint on the Hotel Planter.