making jewelry boxes for mom

Here are several jewelry box designs that you can make yourself and then give to mom for a Mothering Sunday or birthday gift... each box has its own particular style and its own flower, chosen in line with the personality of the mom you're celebrating! These designs are easy to make, you don't need any particular skills, just a little patient work. Suitable for teenagers or younger children, with a little help from an adult...

The design concept: create a lavander theme with round crystal strass beads that will create a lovely sparkling effect. A great gift for a mom who loves flowers and sunny days, this conjures up visions of Provence...

Materials:

• a wooden box with 4 compartments and a mirror inside (5.1 x 3.5 inches):this is the box that's supplied in the online store's jewelry box kit Jewelry and beads : you can decorate it yourself and offer two gifts in one!
• acrylic paint in the following shades: olive green, violet, a little white and some yellow,
• a flat paintbrush, a very fine-tipped paintbrush,
• some Swarovski SS16 4mm diameter)
27 in Vitrail Light
4 in Tanzanite
2 in Capri blue
• some adhesive for strass beads.

The painting stage
The sprigs of lavander are painted in their natural color (a lightish olive green shade): the same color is used to paint the recessed part of the lid, but this time the color is closer to a yellowish lime or pistachio green, having been lightened with the addition of white and yellow.

To make the lavander color of this jewelry box really stand out, the same color of violet will be used in several different shades.
The edges of the lid are painted in a light violet color, using white mixed in to achieve a soft Parma violet color.
The lower sides of the box and its outside bottom are painted violet.
The inside of the box (all around the mirror and the tops of the compartments are painted pink.

As the acrylic paint dries quickly, don't stop working... the sprigs of lavander (3 sprigs that crisscross each other) are painted using a very fine-tipped paintbrush, the lavander leaves being a little bit wider than the stalks. Feel free to have a trial go on a sheet of paper so as to get the knack of things, rest your wrist on the table as you're drawing to produce a good, clear drawing action.

The rhinestone stage
The rhinestones are stuck onto the end of the three sprigs of lavander : you may place a spot of glue directly onto the wood for each sprig, or alternatively, a short streak of glue. All you need in order to pick up the rhinestones and place them carefully into position are long fingernails! With the end of a paintbrush, press down gently to make them stick. If there's too much glue, it won't cause any problem as it will become clear as it dries.

This is how we make lavander flowers from rhinestones, for the most part "Vitrail light" rhinestones. For each sprig, place either 2 Capri blue rhinestones or 2 Tanzanite rhinestones diagonally on either side of the stalk, representing open lavander flowers.

Other boxes and little caskets in real wood are available at competitive prices with the ready-to-give jewelry in the store Caskets and jewelry boxes and cases".

Here we take a simple oval box in unfinished wood and paint it in two colors, decorating it with a simple, monocolor design which is 'jazzed up' with crystal rhinestones (a few Crystal ab SS16 rhinestones. These simple touches create an elegant, romantic casket cum box for a tender-hearted mom.

We use the khaki/olive green from Jo Sonja's (a paint that has excellent coverage properties, therefore providing an aesthetically-pleasing effect), lightened with a little white for the lid.

The flower of the dandelion is painted using a very fine-tipped paintbrush: firstly the stalk, then each cypsela (i.e the seed and "parachute" of the dandelion 'clock'), one after the other in an overlapping fashion. A few dandelion seeds drawn as if floating away create an appearance of motion.

Once the paint has dried, the rhinestones may be glued to the middle of each 'parachute'.

Perfect for a mom who's full of energy and zest -there are warm colors and painting 'special effects' as well as a bouquet of rhinestone flowers to accompany this home-made gift...
The contrasts in the box come from the effect of the paint, which tends to make the wood surfaces look older than they are, whilst the rhinestones add a dazzling, luminous touch.

The top of the box is painted in a shade of Sienna. After it has dried, a crackle medium is applied to the lid (for some handy tips on how to apply crackle effect paint). After having been left to dry for a short while, the lid is painted gray, as are the sides and the back of the box. Once the paint is dry, you may apply white wax with a cloth for an even better 'distressed' look. The rhinestones can then be glued on and arranged in flower shapes. Here we are using round SS16 Crystal Copper rhinestones and Crystal tear drop rhinestones.