These are off to Singapore

It has been a while since I have made some matchboxes. It feels good to get back into it. We are off on a family holiday to Singapore so I thought it would be nice to spread some around. I made one lot of matchboxes with paper and embellishments and I also played decorating with paper and glass beads. I like the glass bead effect.

Gift Boxes

The idea of little matchboxes decorated as little gifts with a “gift” quote inside appealed to me. Here are the results. The quote I used

“Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons.” Ruth Ann Schabacker

Greeting Card Matchboxes

I had a pile of greeting cards that I was not going to use so rather than throw into the recycle bin I thought I would decorate some matchboxes with them. After gluing the base card on the matchbox, I used tiny adhesive foam squares to elevate card segments and then embellished them with beads. I am really loving this project I loose my self in these little boxes – good for the soul!

I have used the following quotes inside these matchboxes:

"Be happy in the moment - that's enough. Each moment is all we need - not more." Mother Teresa

"Don't fill your time with worry - fix what you can and let the rest take care of itself." Anon

"Always remember that the future comes one day at a time." Dean Acheson

"When anger rises, think of the consequences." Confucius

Fused Glass 2 Matchbox

Here is another fused glass matchbox. I love how such sharp glass can be transformed into something so smooth and calm.

The quote inside this one:

"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. " Ralph Waldo Emerson

Button Boxes

My local material shop has this wonderful tub of buttons, which you can buy, by the scoop. I must have spent half an hour sorting out the buttons so I could have a scoop full of tiny colourful ones. I wrapped the matchboxes in paper and glued a whole pile of buttons on top.

The quote inside each one:

"A person who angers you conquers you." Elizabeth Kenny

Peace Matchboxes

A tiny origami peace crane on a matchbox with a peace quote inside was my next project. It has been many many years since I have attempted origami so with the help of ‘you tube’ I remastered the art of peace crane making. I left some boxes plain and painted some gold to pick up the gold detail in the cranes. I really love the result of the matchboxes. One of the nicest spin offs from this one is my 11 year old and 8 year old sons have now gone origami mad they are looking up ‘you tube’ and creating amazing works of paper folding. I particularly loved coming home the other day to be given an origami love heart with the words written “I love you Mum” on it.

I have used the following peace quotes in these matchboxes:

“A smile is the beginning of peace.” Mother Teresa

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” Buddha

“If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another.” Dalai Lama

“Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Peace is a journey of a thousand miles and it must be taken one step at a time.” Lyndon B. Johnson

Mixed Media Matchboxes

Ages ago I played with mixing different media – some friends showed me how. We glued a whole lot of things together, such as paper, string, wire, cardboard, then painted them with acrylic metallic colours and then rubbed in a metal finish.

I painted the matchboxes in acrylic metallic paint and then added the mixed media embellishments

Bronze matchbox quote inside

Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do. Benjamin Spock

Silver matchbox quote inside

Live every act fully, as if it were your last. Buddha

Gold matchbox quote inside

You've got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing. Arthur Ashe

These are also all heading off to Europe