Keepsake House - home is where the heart is

Hi everyone,

Yesterday was our third wedding anniversary, so I wanted to make something really special for my DH John. I love working with Helen Allen's amazing templates and for this project I followed her Pyramid workshop, adapting it a bit to put my own spin on it and create a little keepsake house - I hope Helen will approve!

It was certainly a labour of love - many hours went into this little project - but it was fun and very satisfying to do and, most importantly, John was delighted with the end result ...

In the original design, the pyramid is supported on pillars and there is one drawer space which houses a mini album, but because I wanted to include three drawers, I left the pillars out as it was getting a bit too tall!

The whole thing is made with chipboard or greyboard which you cut with a craft knife according to Helen's template and then decorate with your choice of patterned papers and embellishments. I was very pleased with how sturdy the finished construction is and I think we will be enjoying this for years to come.

Let's have a closer look at my drawers!

The top one is actually a mini album (instructions for this included in Helen's workshop) which is for our growing collection of double selfies ...

I mostly used the Simple Stories "Homespun" collection kit, which was perfect for my "Home is Where the Heart is" theme. For the front of the little book, I added some Studio Calico wood veneers and the Dovecraft Curiosity Corner wooden frame. The flowers were die cut from papers in the collection kit with the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die.

Here's the inside of the book, just waiting for those selfies ...

The inner pages of the album are made of plain cardstock and decorated with papers and embellishments from the collection kit - using the same collection throughout made it very easy to coordinate everything. Distress Paints, Inks and Stains helped to create the slightly worn but still colourful look (just like us!) which I was after.

The second drawer is for keeping little mementos and holds another surprise ...

... a tiny musical movement which plays the music we chose for our wedding, which was Pachelbel's Canon in D. I was so delighted to find this at Music Box World - they have loads of different ones to choose from. It took me ages to cut the keyhole and it's still a bit wonky, but I think it fits in with the quirkiness of the whole thing so that's ok.

The bottom drawer is like a little post box ...

The idea is to write little everyday memories on scraps of paper, post them in here and then next anniversary, we will open the box together and enjoy remembering all the little things about our lives together. Of course, it may fill up quickly, in which case we'll open it at Christmas!

I didn't have the wooden bingo counters which Helen used to create feet for the base, so I used Glossy Accents to glue a stack of buttons together, and did the same thing to make knobs for my drawers as well - I love buttons and I think they add another fun element to this project. 

So, are you wondering if there's anything going on in the pyramid??? Of course there is! When you remove the two squares from the top it opens up to reveal ...

... another pyramid! I may come back and embellish this part further as I feel it is a bit plain compared to the rest, but for now it has the word "LOVE" spelled out on the four sides and the smaller pyramid is decorated with bottle tops which I squished in the Cuttlebug and then filled with colourful scraps and stickers.

And what do you think is inside the very centre of our little house? Take off the last little square to find ...

... a heart of course! This one is made of polystyrene, covered with tissue, matte medium, TH Remnant Rubs and Distress Inks. Originally I had planned to put the music box here, but it wouldn't fit and I had to think again - but I'm thrilled to bits with how it all turned out in the end.

If you fancy making your own Pyramid project, check out Helen's workshop - it comes with full photo instructions, links to video tutorials and lots of ideas and inspiration. All you need is some very basic tools, chipboard/greyboard, a few sheets of patterned paper, embellies of your choice, some coordinating plain card, lots of glue and plenty of patience!

Thanks for looking at my project - sorry it was such a long rambly post, but there was such a lot to show you!

See you again soon :o)

Annie xxx