Lucy's Treasure Box

 I built this oak treasure box for Lucy for Christmas. I had made Jenna a treasure box for Christmas when she was 4, so I decided to do the same for Lu. With each project I make, I try to push myself to improve in either difficulty, design, or overall quality of workmanship. For Lucy's box, I decided to keep the design simple, but built it with lap joints instead of miter or butt joints that I have always used. It required much more precision than previous projects and I enjoyed building it.

 

I had to router out various depths on specific sides of each piece so that the box would fit together perfectly without gaps. I also decided to sink the base into the box rather than having a visible base at the bottom of the box. Here are some of the individual pieces of the box after they were shaped at the router table and how they all fit together with the base sunk into the bottom of the box.

 Once I glued the box together, I built a lid and routered out some space on the back for the hinges. I purchased some small round magnets at a craft store that I used in place of a latch or lock. I used a little wooden heart in place of a locket. I lined the inside of the box with a forest green felt. This was a rewarding project to build something slightly more technical than what I am used to making.

Chili Cook Off Trophies 2013

For this year's Fall Chili Cook-off, I was asked to make multiple trophies for various chili categories, as well as trophies for pumpkin carving. Rather than make multiple large trophies, I made 3 top place trophies similar to trophies in year's past and then 10 smaller "golden spoon" trophies. For the golden spoon trophies, I simply cut out ten blocks on the table saw, routered a decorative edge, and stained them. I took metal spoons that I had picked up at a thrift store and spray painted gold and attached to the plaques. They were simple but elegant, and well received at the event.