Dice vault (a long, thin box) with sides covered in a Celtic key pattern in blues, red, and metallic gold, attached gold-leafed neoclassical/nouveau-style legs, and a lid with a Celtic key pattern inlay in walnut and white oak against a background of off-wite handmade paper with fibrous inclusions (elevated three-quarter view looking).

I was noticing that people were making dice using washi tape. They cast a “blank” (a smaller die with no numbers), wrap that in washi tape, then “shell” it by putting it in a larger mold of the same shape with numbers (and possibly a logo or other graphic). The first key pattern washi tape I made is pretty narrow (15mm). I wasn’t sure if it would work for that (spoiler: it turns out that, yes, it can work). I wanted to make other washi tape designs, including another key pattern. I made one of them extra wide (45mm).

A few dice makers are now using it to make dice! One of those, the wonderful Jessa at Silverleaf Dice, is celebrating hitting 2100 followers in Instagram with a big multi-artist giveaway. The theme is community inspiration, and she is making a set of dice with each of my washi tape designs.

I was thinking it would be fun to make a custom dice vault (a box sized to hold a set of dice) for those. I wondered about how I could echo the design elements of the washi tape on the vault. Watching a cosplay crafting video where someone was painting flex bond on EVA foam, I remembered that decoupage exists. After a couple quick tests, I determined that I could get the tape well adhered to wood with PVA wood glue and coat it with an appropriate sealer to get a nice finish.

This design adds some legs and a wood inlay lid with a different key pattern design.

There were a few small revisions as I built it. The first version of the legs had one part of the foot coming to a point. As I got to where I was ready to glue them on to the box body, I discovered that a point on one foot had chipped off. That made me realize it was probably too fragile, and I redesigned to make it less pointy and have a larger point of contact for the surface upon which it sits.

Two curved legs painted gold being held up against a black background to show how a point has broken off of one of them.
The original dice vault legs comparing one with a broken point.
A gloved hand holds up a wooden box leg showing off the design change making the foot have less of a point.
Revised dice vault leg design.

I primed the legs, but was not particularly careful or adequately slow and methodical with the metallic gold paint. I didn’t love the way they looked with the flaws. So, I made a new set and covered them with gold leaf. That was a lot more work than spray painting them, but they look great.

The spray version of the sealer for the gold leaf is just awful. It spits out in globs and makes an uneven mess. With a little fiddling, they still came out looking great. I got some of the brush-on variety for future projects.

The white oak and walnut key pattern inlaid lid is similar to some things I have done previously. I was surprised at how smoothly that went together.

The finished dice vault, paired with the matching set of washi tape dice, is going to one of the winners of the big Silverleaf Dice giveaway. If you are seeing this the first week of July 2025 and you have an Instagram account, go enter for a chance to win that or a number of other wonderful handmade TTRPG dice and accessories.

Dice vault (a long, thin box) with sides covered in a Celtic key pattern in blues, red, and metallic gold, attached gold-leafed neoclassical/nouveau-style legs, and a lid with a Celtic key pattern inlay in walnut and white oak against a background of off-wite handmade paper with fibrous inclusions (elevated three-quarter view looking).
Three-quarter view of the Celtic key pattern dice vault.
Dice vault (a long, thin box) with sides covered in a Celtic key pattern in blues, red, and metallic gold, attached gold-leafed neoclassical/nouveau-style legs, and a lid with a Celtic key pattern inlay in walnut and white oak against a background of off-wite handmade paper with fibrous inclusions (side view).
Celtic Key Pattern Dice Vault (side view)
Dice vault (a long, thin box) with sides covered in a Celtic key pattern in blues, red, and metallic gold, attached gold-leafed neoclassical/nouveau-style legs, and a lid with a Celtic key pattern inlay in walnut and white oak against a background of off-wite handmade paper with fibrous inclusions (top view).
The Celtic key pattern dice vault from the top.
Three-quarter view of the Celtic key pattern dice vault on its side showing the bottom, which has been engraved with the Evermore ambigram, on a surface and background of handmade off-white paper.
Celtic Key Pattern Dice Vault bottom view
Dice vault (a long, thin box) with sides covered in a Celtic key pattern in blues, red, and metallic gold, attached gold-leafed neoclassical/nouveau-style legs, and a lid with a Celtic key pattern inlay in walnut and white oak against a background of off-wite handmade paper with fibrous inclusions. The box is open with the lid sitting next to it. Inside, a set of milky turquoise dice can be seen.
Open view of the Celtic key pattern dice vault. Stunt dice courtesy of Necrotic Dice Co.
Dice vault (a long, thin box) with sides covered in a Celtic key pattern in blues, red, and metallic gold, attached gold-leafed neoclassical/nouveau-style legs, and a lid with a Celtic key pattern inlay in walnut and white oak against a background of off-wite handmade paper with fibrous inclusions. The box is open with the lid resting against it. Inside, a set of milky turquoise dice can be seen (three-quarter view).
Open view of the Celtic key pattern dice vault. Stunt dice courtesy of Necrotic Dice Co.

There is also an un-narrated 3.5-minute speed run video showing the process of making the dice vault:

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