Thinking inside the box

If you want to start a collection of compacts then you need to have a think about how to store them. They need to be protected from potential scratching and from bright sunlight which may cause fading.

There are some lovely vintage boxes around but I decided to make my own box to store them in as I love to make things and try out new crafts. I started with a plank of wood and ended up with this:

The box measurements are:

Height: 22 cm              Width: 27 cm          Depth :22 cm

I used wood from a local DIY shop where they sell off cuts from kitchen installations, felt lining from E bay, napkins for the decoupaged lid and some wood dye, varnish, and handles from Wilko. The materials used cost approximately £10.00 to make plus a good few hours. Here's how it came together:

After carefully measuring the pieces, I clamped the plank down and used a mitre saw to cut them, I also clamped a guide on top to make sure I end up with straight lines. My cheeky cat tried to help. I’d advise to do any woodwork outside to save the mess but unfortunately for me it happened to be a rainy day.

  

I never realised the amount of preparation needed to make a box square with straight lines and no gaps. I lined up the pieces to find the best fit and shaved off some tiny slithers of wood to make sure I had straight lines. Then I measured out and marked where I needed to drill to screw the pieces together, bearing in mind the thickness of the wood. I drilled and screwed, then spent a good two hours sanding the box shape down with an electric sander.

Then it was time to stain the wood using a wood dye, I applied 3 coats of dye allowing 4 hours to dry in between each coat. After 24 hours, I then applied the varnish and had to apply four coats as the new wood was quite thirsty. Before doing this, it’s worth trying out the dye and varnish of a test piece to make sure you’re happy with the colour before you cover the box with it.

In-between coats, I also spray painted the wood lid an off white colour as i didn’t want the colour of the wood to show through my decoupage. I then decoupaged the lid using paper napkins and decoupage glue.

I used a stand so I could stain all sides without getting the dye on anything it shouldn’t.

The decoupage took over 24 hours to dry and remained tacky for another 48 hours

Once I was happy with the finish, I trimmed all the edges and patched up any rough areas. I then added handles to the sides of the box for carrying.

I lined the box interior with felt to prevent any scratching and to give a softer appearance

Then I screwed the hinges to fix the lid and viola!!