Monster Book Of Monsters Valentine Box

Does your Harry Potter fan need a Valentine box for school? They’ll be the coolest kid in class with this Harry Potter Valentine Box. After all, what Harry Potter fan wouldn’t want their own Monster Book Of Monsters!

I love valentine boxes! I’ve made everything from a Sponge Bob valentine box to a Chewbacca valentine box so when my daughter asked for a Harry Potter valentine box this year, I totally jumped at the chance! We talked over different ideas and decided to go with this fun Monster Book Of Monsters Valentine box!

While this craft took a little longer than the ones I usually make, it was totally worth it and we LOVE the way it turned out! (If you don’t have that much time, you can make this cute Harry Potter valentine box instead).

As featured on Sarasota’s Suncoast View:

Scroll to the end of this post to see my entire list of Valentine’s Day Boxes

Ready to make this super cool box?  Here’s what you’ll need for a Monsters Book Of Monsters valentine box:

Materials:

• 2 boxes  – I used a cereal box for the main “book” and cut up a smaller box for the hump on top (see pictures below)
• Fake fur (from any fabric store) – I bought 1/2 yard but we had plenty left over. You’d probably be fine with a little less than that.
• Black foam sheet
• 2 pcs. white construction paper
• Glass marbles for eyes – I used green but these have the amber color that the “real” monster has
• 2 oz pk each of Sculpey Deep Red Pearl / Pearl / Silver or Gray

Tools:

• Scissors
• X-ACTO knife or razor (you can use the scissors in a pinch but these work better for cutting the slots)
• Hot glue gun & glue sticks
• Pencil
• Black permanent marker

Harry Potter Valentine Box: Monster Book Of Monsters

You’ll need to start with fake fur. I bought mine at a local fabric shop. I wasn’t sure how much we’d need but 1/2 yard turned out to be more than enough. In fact, I even had enough left over to make a Chewbacca valentine box. Be sure to check to see if you can print out a coupon before you go (or upload one to your phone). I got this at Joanne’s and used a coupon that gave me 50% off.

I made this Valentine box out of a large family sized Cheerios box but you can use whatever works for you. As long as it’s rectangular, it can pretty much be any size. Start by gluing the top closed.

Next, trace the front and sides of the box and cut construction paper to match (if you don’t have it, regular copy paper will do). I didn’t have a piece of construction paper long enough for the front so I cut two pieces that I could put together. Make them equal sizes so that they meet in the middle…once you add the monster teeth, it won’t be very noticeable. Don’t worry about adding paper to the back, since it’ll be covered with fur.

Using a pencil and a ruler, trace lines on the papers to make them look like pages of a book. This part took me awhile!

Use a razor or X-acto knife to cut a “trap door” in the back (to remove the Valentines).

Next, glue the lined paper around the box. 

Now cut the fur to match the shape of the box. You should have one long piece that wraps around the box, leaving the sides and the front uncovered. Don’t glue yet.

Open the trap door and trace around it with the sharpie. Cut the three sides but but leave the side closest to the box intact.

Hot glue the fur to the box.

Next, glue the flap of fur to the “trap door”.  

I was going to add something to hold it closed but found that once I pushed it shut, it stayed closed unless I pulled it back open. Since you really only need to open it once, that worked just fine.

Trim the fur along the bottom if necessary. I left just enough along the bottom to fold it up slightly and glue it to the box. 

To make the hump on top, you’ll need a second box. Cut a small section off the top, where there’s already a bend in the box.

You’ll want to cut another piece of fur with about an inch extra on both sides.

Position the cardboard piece on top of the box. Pull the fur back on the Monster Book Of Monsters (I placed scissors on top to hold it in place) and slide the cardboard piece underneath. Glue. I glued the back piece first, made sure it was positioned how I wanted it, then glued the rest of the cardboard to the top of the box.

Once the glue is dry, fluff the fur to cover where you glued the top piece on. Pull down the fur on the sides and glue. Once that glue has dried, blend the pieces of fur together so it looks like part of the monster.

I had to go a little rogue here. The eyes in the movie were an amber color but I didn’t have anything that color that would work. Instead I used these green glass pieces (the kind you use for filling jars and other home decor projects). I drew diamonds in the middle with Sharpie and glued to black foam paper.

Next, glue the eyes to the front of the “hump”. Hold the fur back, glue, then pull the fur back down to slightly cover the eyes.

To make the book title, I printed yellow font on a black background. I made a free printable if you’d like to print my copy and save the trouble of making your own.

Cut out the black squares and glue them to black foam board to make the paper more sturdy.

Cut out the words and foam board, then hot glue them to your monster.

Now it was time for the teeth and horns. I’m not exactly sure what the gray things are but we’ll just call them horns for lack of anything better.

This is where I made my biggest mistake. I haven’t worked with clay since art class in elementary school so I had to learn by trial and error. My first batch of clay was a polymer no-bake clay. I made all the pieces and left them out to dry but the clay didn’t harden. Though it said not to bake it, I figured I had nothing to lose so that’s just what I did. The teeth melted all over the place and it was back to the craft store for me.

This time I bought oven bake clay and it worked MUCH better! Be sure you get the kind that says “oven bake”. You’ll need deep red pearl, pearl and silver.

Form teeth, gums and a tongue. Take the side that will be glued to the box and push down slightly on a hard surface so that you have a flat side for gluing.

Add the teeth to the underside of the gums and twist each one slightly so that the teeth are uneven and gnarly. Add more red to the bottom to cover where the teeth are attached.

Now take the silver or gray clay and make the horns, bending each one slightly. Don’t forget to press the bigger end down on a hard surface to make a flat area for gluing.

Bake the pieces at 265° for approximately 15 minutes. I just put some foil on a cookie sheet and placed them on the foil. There was NO melting this time…yay!

Once they finish baking, let the clay pieces cool before gluing them to the book.

I used a lot of hot glue on the underside of the gums because I knew that it wouldn’t be seen unless you looked underneath. I wanted to be sure that the teeth weren’t going to fall off. This monster needs to be scary!

After gluing the bottom half of the gums to the box, I added a small strip of fur to make them look more natural.

That  was it. The Harry Potter Valentine Box was finished and we had our very own Monster Book Of Monsters!

My Harry Potter loving daughter couldn’t have been more excited! According to her, this was the best Harry Potter Valentine Box she’d ever seen!

This may have taking a little longer than most of my other crafts but it was so much fun! I love the way it turned out and out of all the crafts I’ve done, I think it’s one of my favorite!

Pin this for later >> The Monster Book Of Monsters

Are you making a Harry Potter Valentine Box this year? I’d love to see your pictures!

Check out some of my favorite things on Amazon, including everything you need for a magical Harry Potter party!

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