DIY Harry Potter Series – The Monster Book of Monsters Storage Box

I have a friend’s birthday coming up and she is as much of an HP nut as  I am. I wanted to give her something potter themed but also something she could use. My ideas were Potter jewelry or a trinket box to hold her odds and ends. I decided to go with the box.

I was going to wrap it in a Gryffindor themed wrap but wanted something more. Hence  the Monster book.

The how to for this DIY is going to be slightly long. I wanted to add pictures for each step for better understanding so bear with me. It’ll be totally worth it when you’re done 😀

Materials:

1. 1 storage box ( I bought a wooden one from Michael’s)
2. Brown Acrylic Paint
3. Faux Brown Fur  – 1 to 2 strips (I got mine from Joanns; see link here Joanns Faux Fur)
4. Monster Book of Monsters Template (you can do an image google search and print out the template)
5. Googly eyes – 4 ( I got mine from Michaels; see link here Michaels Wiggle Eyes)
6. Hot Glue Gun
7. Scissors
8. Mod Podge Gloss

What to do?

1. Paint your box with the brown paint and let dry (one coat is sufficient).
2. Open up the faux fur and lay the box on the inner layer of the fur (the soft furry layer should face down). Make sure there is an extra strip of fur on all 4 sides of the box.
3. Use a hot glue gun to stick the fur starting from one side to the other (you will need to stick the fur layer on in sections adding glue as you go).
4. Apply even pressure to the fur while sticking to avoid bubbles.
5. Once your fur layer is attached, use scissors to cut triangular bits out of all sides to give an appearance of fingers or tentacles (see image).
6. Pull out 4 yellow eyes from your pack and use hot glue to attach them to the middle of the fur on the top of the box.
7. Lift up the fur around the eyes slightly to give a depressed look.
8. Cut out the Monster Book of Monsters template individually and add a layer of gloss mod podge. Let dry for a shiny look.
9. Use hot glue to stick the template on the fur (“The monster book of” will be above the eyes and the “Monsters” will be below).
10. Optional step: Bind the entire book in a brown belt.

And your monster box is ready. Don’t forget to stroke it’s spine when it’s angry 😛

P.S. I didn’t attach any teeth because it would cover the locking clasp of my box but you can always make teeth and gums using clay and attach with hot glue.