Box Making - The Pillow Box

Something a little different today and throwback to my days on The Carol Duvall Show. If it's one thing Miss Carol loved, it was a good, handmade box! As someone who simply adores the fine art of paper engineering, I developed a deep appreciation for them too!

This past week I sold a bead pen on Karen Thomas' Beadable Products page (a lovely little Facebook group devoted to finished beadables that Karen sells and the beads that fit on them!) But it was not any ordinary bead pen! It featured an extra large, extraordinary plant bead from the oh-so-amazing Cynthia Tilker. The humble spacers from me... Meet Audrey:

Isn't she just fabulous??? Cynthia is a master sculptor!  And after it sold ...to someone in Hawaii... I was panic stricken when I realized I was out of long skinny bracelet boxes... then more panic set in as I went to order them and realized Audrey was a bit to plump to fit nicely in a bracelet box!

I searched and searched for the proper box. I quizzed other bead pen sellers and remained panicked!

I started puttering through my box stash and realized that the pocket boxes I ship "cheaper breakables" in would almost fit...but not quite.

We interrupt this post to discuss everyone's least favorite topic: PRICING:

Cheaper breakables??? Isn't all glass breakable?? Well, yes, but the likelihood of a round or donut bead breaking in transit is pretty nil. And... you have to analyze YOUR costs. For me, the jewelry boxes I use for shipping cost me between 30 and 50 cents each. After doing the math on my shipping charges, they are only cost effective for me on orders of $20 or more.

So, $20 or more goes in a cotton-filled jewelry box. Under $20 gets bubble wrap as long as they are simple, less likely to break beads.

But then there are those that don't fit nicely into to that rule structure. Such as the mini witch hat I made this year. It sells for $17.

But that brim is thin... In cases such as this, I use corrugated pillow boxes which are around 18 cents each... a pretty cheap insurance policy if you ask me. I've found these boxes helpful when shipping weight is on the verge of a price increase. The lighter box often makes it a few pennies cheaper to ship.

Back to the box:

You can find a million templates for pillow boxes out there  such as the one below...but it was hard for me to find a ready made one as long and as thick as I needed for Audrey.

The basic pillow box has three parts: 2 sides, a hidden tab, and four "eyes" that form the opening mechanism. For those of you who are new to paper engineering, solid lines are cut lines; dash lines are where you score.

Because of my sizing issue, my template only gave me a rough idea of where to go... so I got out some plain cardstock and my trusty bone folder and made myself a template. I knew it needed to be at least 7" long to accommodate for bubble wrap and just over 2" thick to allow for the big bead.  I used a CD to sketch big round ends... and it was a total failure! It would not close properly.

I pondered my failure for another 1/2 day. Then while getting a relaxing massage for my crappy shoulder, it hit me...the ends have to remain EYE shaped to work!  I knew that by making it a little bit wider, I would get the depth I need!  (See what happens when you relax and clear your mind!)

I made a 2nd template, this time using the full width of the 8.5 x 11 paper. I stuck it together with some temporary tack glue and voila! It held Audrey beautifully! Then I was ready for the final box.

For Audrey to travel overseas, I knew I wanted corrugated for the ultimate in protection. I had some green corrugated rolled card stock in my stash. I traced my template and cut it out. I had to use the round end of the bone folder on the score lines to not puncture the paper and I scored it twice for good measure as the paper was thick! I glued the flap to the inside so the outside remained smooth. Here's the finished open box:

I found the ends a bit hard to open so I used a paper punch to create notches. This took a bit of patience on the thick paper:

Here is Audrey, all bundled up: tissue paper, bubble wrap with an extra piece of bubble around the big bead, all taped up. She fit the box just fine!

Here she is tied up and waiting for ribbon trimming:

Have you ever had a boxing dilemma??? I would love to know how you solved it!

Quilt Failure

I have NOTHING beady to say today... I'm in the middle of five different projects and nothing at the "sharing" stage yet!

So... I thought I would regale you with a witty story... I was reading EmaK's blog on quilts and how that passion appears in her lampwork and remembered why quilting is one of few handcrafts at which I'm a total failure.

When I was working on Carol Duvall and Simply Quilts was shooting next door and we were all sharing offices, I decided I had to learn! After some discussion with the ladies on that show, it was determined that Japanese fabrics were what really struck a cord in me. I loved the watercolor feel and the hint of metallic. And they recommended a Japanese fabric store in West L.A.

Still not sure, I stopped into the store on a Saturday, fell in love with a log cabin style quilt that had big six inch wide logs. That quilt made me sign up for a class and I bought fabric based on what the shop owner told me.... that the log cabin quilt was great for a beginner.

I returned a few weeks later, sewing machine and my stash of fabrics in tow. The shop owner set me up at a table and told me to start cutting all that fabric into little one inch strips. HUH???? How's one inch strips going to turn into that large panel quilt on the wall??? While I sat there confused and staring back and forth from my fabric to the quilt, she got on the phone. 20 minutes go by.

She strolls by me, still on the phone and YELLS at me to START CUTTING!!! Still not understanding and her still on the phone, I decided that if she wanted me to cut such small pieces I would BUY more fabric to make whatever quilt she wanted me to make.

And then, the shop owner turned into some kind of Nazi! Still on the phone, she starts yelling again, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING???? SIT DOWN AND CUT!!! CUT FABRIC NOW!"

I had had enough and no longer cared that she was on the phone. I told her I don't understand. She does not hang up but comes over and again tells me to cut small strips. I explained... A few weeks ago, when I bought my fabric....etc.

She tells me "That quilt no beginner quilt. CUT NOW!"

I tell her I would rather buy different fabric. This was not the class I was promised and I got up again to browse.

She started yelling at me to get out!!! "YOU LEAVE NOW!"

"REFUND NOW!"

She keeps yelling but as I'm packing up my sewing machine tells me she will refund 1/2. I said nothing but I went outside and called my credit card company. I got all my money back...except for the fabric.

And I never ever wanted to make a quilt after that! And YES, I told all the ladies at Simply Quilts what happened! None of them would shop there after the incident!

P.S. The Nazi Quilt shop went out of business

My Love Affair with Lampwork

I thought I first became aware of lampwork beads while working as a producer on The Carol Duvall Show. But, when I look back over the years, I've always had a fascination with a good piece of glass. I'll delve into that later. Let's deal with more recent history.

I started working on Carol's show in January 1999. The field producer (bits shot outside on location) was working on a piece about a lampwork artist. I was fascinated.

In the meantime, I was an avid rubber stamper and starting stalking becoming friends with Bindy Lambell and her young eight-year-old daughter, Lacey. Bindy was a demo artist with Sunday International Rubber Stamps and when she would leave the booth at a trade show, Lacey would take over and demo! She was awesome!!!

I started pitching Lacey as a guest to Carol. The network didn't want kids on the show...afraid of doing too many "kid projects." Little did they realize, Lacey was NOT a kid project kinda gal. Her stuff was classy. It would take me a year of begging before Lacey got an official invite. I finally convinced them by simply showing a project and not telling them a kid made it!

Little did I know this friendship would change the direction of my life....

But yet another guest on Carol's Show would have an impact on my glass fanaticism. Orna Willis, a designer specializing in needlepoint, was one of my guests. Orna would show up dripping in lampwork beads. I was mesmerized! I would stare at her chest or grab her wrist and pick apart each bead with my eyes! She would even have a long strand of glass beads dangling from her scissors to make them easier to find.

It was Orna who told me about ebay...OY! (This was well before the Chinese influx of crap beads on the market!) I simply loved when Orna came to town. I couldn't wait to see what she would be wearing.

Now, back to Bindy. With each show that Lacey did, Bindy and I became closer friends. She was an avid beader and had had many of her designs grace the covers of magazines. She too had a fascination with lampwork beads.

When I knew it was time to leave Carol in 2001 (I was in desperate need of foot surgery and headed to a wheelchair!), Bindy begged me to take a class with her at San Gabriel Bead Company. After totaling up the tally for the class, I declined, not knowing how long it would be before I was gainfully employed again.

Two months later, Bindy quit her job and made a living selling her beads full time!

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