Handmade Beads and Boxes

From time to time, I've made handmade boxes cutting the parts out of hard greyboard and covering them with luscious papers.

The first one is designed to hold several sizes of the small double-pointed knitting needles that are used for making socks. I wanted to keep the needles sorted since at this size, it's difficult to see the numbers and eventually over time with use, the numbers tend to be worn off.

Also, I wanted to be able to pick the needles out of the container easily, so by tipping the box forward, the needles all fall to the front, still in their individual compartments and easily accessible.

Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of the needles in the drawer, but they are in small compartments that have a 'bridge' holding them in. The sizes are placed in order, so there's no danger of mixing them up.

It would be a nice design element to mark the backing paper for each set of needles with artistically drawn large numbers. Next time.

The rope is raffia strands, twisted in the technique used by Japanese to make rice straw rope.

The bead was made by me using a two-part mold. It is porcelain and only fired to bisque range. I write more about it in my clay blog: www.jeanetteharrisblog.blogspot.com.

I wrote a short article for Studio Potter about the process and included several photos of a few of this and other beads.

The box pictured here is a lesson in how to make a sliding drawer. The funny thing is, you make the drawer; THEN construct the box around it. Tricky.

The bead is a hand-formed and glazed with a transparent glaze.

The last box is one made for my sister. (A purchased bead tops off the box.)

This idea is a box made like a perfume box with a top that slides upwards. It is also a sock knitting needle container and the needles fall forward and fan out when the top is opened.

You can't see it in this photo, but the box has 6 compartments--three on one side and three on the back. If I make this design again, I would incorporate a tiny draw-string to corral the needles before sliding the lid back on.

Or, make little sliding compartments that could be pulled up to select the right needles. I would put the needle numbers on the top so it would be easy to pick the size.