Little Things

I've always had a love for little things and still (at nearly 50 years old) have my box of little childhood treasures that I love to look through from time to time. At the left is my treasure box ~ a 12" diameter Shaker type wood box about 4" deep. Would you believe that all the stuff below actually fits into it?!!! As you can see, I really do love little bitsy things!

My latest venture into little things is making matchboxes. Matchboxes may not sound terribly exciting, but once decorated and filled with an assortment of bits such as beads, buttons, stickers and ribbon, they become charming little treasure boxes.

The very first matchbox I ever made was back when I was in elementary school. Covered with bright yellow felt and trimmed in more felt, it looks pretty amateurish, but I liked it enough to keep coins from other countries in it. The next one I made was in the mid 1980's when I took a bookbinding class. Our first binding project was to cover a matchbox like a book. This one is filled with suitcase and diary keys!

The latest matchboxes are another creature all together. Covered with scraps of fabric and trim, they are coming out so cute! This strawberry matchbox, covered in velvet with a wool stuffed velvet strawberry is my favorite! This one has been sent to my swap partner in Paris! I hope she loves it! I must make more of these ~ it was so tactile and sweet that I almost couldn't bear to send it away!

The next one is covered with a graphic white & black cotton. The fabric became the main attraction and I found it didn't need embellishing. What fun to find lovely black and white things to go with it!

The latest one is for a Flower Matchbox Swap. My partner stated that her favorite colors were burnt orange and brown so this is what I came up with. She got a Dotee Doll, Autumn Blossom as I was inspired by the colors! Oranges are NOT my favorite colors and in fact I would usually say they are my least favorite, but as I looked at the fabric and beads that I had, I was inspired!