About A Box...(And a Ring)

I found  almost the perfect ring for my daughter, Mykaela, recently in a little antique shop. I was staying with my friend at her cabin in Pine, Arizona and of course you don't visit Pine without nosing around in the local shops! I had given my older daughter, Summer, one of my rings on her 21st birthday. It had been a favorite of hers for years and that birthday seemed like the perfect time to give it to her. I had wanted to do the same thing for Mykaela, but never found anything that had that type of significance until that day in Pine.

Neither of my daughters resemble me overall. Summer, looks much like my mother did at her age and Mykaela, I think bears a striking resemblance to my husband's mom. Each of my daughters, though, have a feature or two that reminds me of "me", and with Mykaela, it is her hands. They aren't exactly like mine, but very similiar and some of the motions and gestures I see when she is using them look very familiar. There is a picture of me (from an ancient newspaper article about a craft fair I took part in) that shows my hands when they most looked like Mykaela's do now. I LOVED rings and my favorite was the one you can barely make out on my "first" finger in this picture.

Very grainy, but like I said, very old, from a newspaper and then I enlarged the copy
to focus on the ring!


The ring I found that day in Pine was the same size and shape and like "my" ring had a lot of detailing in the setting. Both rings were inset with shell and very delicate looking. Since I have no idea whatever happened to the ring I was wearing in the picture, I figured this would be a good substitute.

The purchase was made and that left me thinking about the presentation. I wanted something more than just sticking the ring in a box or a gift bag. Since the gift was inspired by something old, I decided to
make an "aged" looking box from one of the match boxes I keep on hand. I buy these
boxes (they come packaged in twos) at the dollar store. I love to detail and decorate them
for various purposes.....so if you ever have a need for "boxless" wood matches,
I'm your girl!




I chose a plain "paper bag brown" paper and stamped all over it with
my Tim Holtz paragraph of words stamp. Then I cut the pieces for top, bottom,
and sides and ran them through my Zutter electric distresser!
I heavily inked the edges and glued the pieces on and then rolled them by laying the box
flat....the folds in the box allowed this! I used my Cropadile to make holes for a jute handle.

I decided I would also cover the inside of the box, so more stamping, cutting, and adhering!
I found that by stamping the paper before I cut, I could have a continuous pattern from the
floor of the box, up the sides. I also added the "bird" stamp so that he would be
peeking at her when she lifted the ring out. (I call her my "Little Bird"!)

Searching through my drawers of supplies, I found these little pegs and
decided that this little box was going to have some "feet"! I stained them with ink
first and let them dry, then put them on with E6000. (Love that glue!!!!)
In this photo, you can see how distressed the edges of the paper are.
I wanted something that looked like it had weathered the ages and the heavy distressing did the trick!
Because the edges curl, I had to apply a few coats of dark brown paint to the box so that
the red, white, and blue, pattern wouldn't show where the edges didn't meet!
An extra step, but well worth the effort!

Finally ready for the top, I stamped her initials on the same paper and used
the scallop punch to cut them out. Again with the heavy inking. (And yes, I also heavily
ink my fingers when doing this.....never have been able to wear gloves!)
I'd been saving this glittery flower and it made the perfect final touch!

I wrapped the ring in an organza bag so she could still see a hint of
the little bird, but the ring wouldn't be rolling around and rattling.

Final piece ready to present! Now the difficult part was waiting for six more weeks until
she came home. I really wanted to give it to her in person!

And....here is the ring, beautiful on her delicate "Little Bird" hand!

Thanks for visiting today!
I hope you love boxes as much as I do! The anticipation and presentation of
a gift is always the most thrilling and rewarding part for me. I would love to know any fun
or sentimental ideas you have for gift giving!