Make Your Own Jewelry Box

Since moving to Fort Rucker, Hubby has gotten into anything that gets and keeps him in the garage. He might have done it to originally get away from the cat, and continued to do it to get away from me. BUT HAHA I HAVE TRICKED HIM! Instead I started making him help me with projects. 

For xmas I decided to it would be more fun and personal to make my hippie sister a jewelry box since she doesn't have one. 

I went to Michael's where they have already make wood boxes and other things like below. 

After I made hubs take off all the hardware, we decided to test the stains we plan on using for a dresser we've been working on forever that refuses to get done- cherry red and an ebony. 

First we taped the wood on top that we would later stain ebony and put down the cherry stain

Then we mixed a tint and a poly together in an empty sour cream cup

Applied the mixture on top of the stain with a sponge brush.
After it dried we removed and ret taped, then did the ebony.

Here's before and after tinting. 

I helped a little but most of the time I was "management" which was just as fun. 

You could also paint it as well. Painting would probably be faster because the process of sanding, staining, poly-ing the whole thing took over a week, where as you could do this all in one day with paint. 

We picked up some red sparkle felt with I thought a hippie would like but was sort of classy and would match with the cherry red and ebony. 

When all was said and done I wrote a little note on the inside with gold paint. 

Also from Michael's/Mecca, I picked up these flowers which, after practicing an arrangement, I used 3,000lb epoxy to glue them down. They ain't goin' no wheres. 

We realized later that we tinted the red too much and you couldn't tell much of a difference between that and the ebony... but now we know. 

When I called on Christmas she was so excited and really loved it- and it made me feel pretty great to make something with my hands, to to boss my husband around and have him enjoy it.