*Spoiler for my partners/Petite Inspiration Matchbox Swap: Nesting Edition*

Just a reminder...you can click on these pictures and see them in much better detail.

I just couldn't wait to show you these pictures. This is one of all three of my matchboxes. The swap was sponsored by Heather of Speckled Egg and we traded with three different partners. Each of my partners struck me as very different women so I tailor-made the boxes to fit each person's style and tastes.

This one was made for a woman who does romantic and delicate work in pastels and lace. i covered the box with pale pink silk (well, it really was polyester, but it looked like silk!) dupioni and edged it with a thin gold and pink ribbon. The birds were dry-washed with a pale pink...both father, who is standing guard, and mother, who is nesting. The paper flowers were from Martha Stewart. I wanted to make flowers from the dupioni but these just worked better.

The sides had small pink beads dangling from the bottom and another pink ribbon. The birds were also embellished with a pink feather and "twists" of pearls and crystals. It was quite simple but I didn't want to mess it up by going any farther. You can see the mother here. She is sitting on three pale pink eggs.

This woman describes herself as liking things that "looked like they had been out in the barn for awhile." I toyed with making her something more rustic, but then looked at a picture that she said made her happy. It was of a Cath Kidston set of dishes, consisting of a polka dot plate and a rose-patterned bowl. It is hard to see the rose pattern, but it had yellow, red and green roses.

I found two small swatches of Cath Kidston material on E-Bay and anxiously awaited for their arrive. I was so disappointed when I got them...the scale was much too big for a tiny matchbox. So off I went to my local Staples and copied the prints at half size (they would not let me copy on fabric paper :-().  I covered the box with the paper and edged it with sky blue polka-dot ribbon. The inside, candle-cup feet and peg knob were painted a pearly blue. I painted polka dots on the inside. All the the boxes had the added feet and knob and I liked the extra height and details.

The red bird was "sugared" with clear glitter and rested on three pearly blue eggs in a nest. The vintage flowers just seemed to fit in.  I just realized I forgot to recolor the bird's black eyes. Kat thought they looked spooky...and they do look a little strange.

I did throw a few rusty keys in the box for fun!

This is an upright version of the last box. This woman had traveled to many places. I covered the box with some blue and navy silky material that  looked Moroccan, then glued a piece of flower embroidery from the same material on the bottom ot the inside box. The German scrap of a boy and girl holding flowers and the little vintage German corsage sealed the deal and it suddenly looked very Germanic. I put the butterfly on (it was on a spring) to give it more movement. It looked a tiny bit blah still so I glittered the sides of the heart with a fine Martha Stewart gold glitter that matched the gold ribbon on the edges. I put many things inside that were from countries around the world.

Here is a view of the inside of the box with unidentifiable treasures though I do see a wired Chinese pendant. Last time, I arranged my treasures in an orderly fashion. This time, I had so many bits and bobs that I just painted the inside and tossed them in!

I love decorating these matchboxes. I did my first one for the Silver Bella Advent Matchbook Swap and did Heather of Speckled Egg's first Petite Inspiration Matchbox Swap: Valentine Edition. These were so much easier to do. For the Advent Calendar, we made twenty-four of the same one, using tiny, tiny matchboxes. Fun, but harder for my first attempt.

The funny thing is walking into stores and looking for the boxes and the right size. Somehow the question always just seems to come up, "What are you using this for?" When I try to explain, I usually get blank looks or no further questions. A clerk once asked me, "Why would you want to decorate a matchbox?" He didn't understand:-) Only those who would do it, get it!

We also have sacks and sacks of matches around the house. Let me know if you need matches!!!

-Suz