| Matchbox Treasure Chest |
From "DIY Crafts"
episode DIC-143 |
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Carol Duvall, host of HGTV's The Carol Duvall Show, describes how she made a matchbox treasure chest. A number of years ago, 20 at least, a small craft project for both children and adults was making the rounds. It consisted of four small (penny) boxes of wooden matches glued together to form a square, covered with a postcard picture and used as little drawers to hold either the original matches or desk supplies such as paper clips and rubber bands. With this project as a basis, we went on to bigger, more elaborate, more versatile versions. They are also much more labor intensive but fun to do and pretty to look at. Materials and steps (for original version):
Four small matchboxes
Two postcards
Cardboard
Decorative tape
Craft knife
- Position matchboxes in a square and draw around. Remove matchboxes, and cut out cardboard (figure A).
- Cut out a second piece of cardboard to match.
- Glue a picture postcard to one side of each cardboard square, and trim to fit. Optional: Add a length of decorative tape around the outside edge of each postcard picture (figure B).
- Glue the four matchboxes to the wrong side of one piece of cardboard. Glue the second cardboard piece, picture side up, on top.
- Add small tape "handles" to each "drawer" (figure C).
Materials and steps (for updated version):
12 matchboxes
Gift-wrap, fabric or tissue paper
White glue, Mod Podge® or decoupage adhesive
Tissue paper or paint
Foam board, 1/4" thick
Small beads for drawer pulls
Spray adhesive
Cording
Optional: four wooden beads for legs - Cover the inside of each matchbox "drawer" with decorative tissue paper or fabric. Paint the outside of each matchbox or cover with gift-wrap or fabric.
- Arrange four boxes as in the original version of this project, and cut three pieces of foam board 1/4" larger (1/8" on each side).
- Cut three pieces of paper each 4" larger than the foam squares (2" on each side).
- Place a foam piece in the center of one paper square (wrong side up), and fold paper up and over the foam on all four sides. Unfold and notice the creases. Cut off the corners of the paper. Refold the paper up and over. A small "wing" will form at each corner. This can be glued to the outside or refolded and glued to the edge of the foam on the inside of the folded paper. Repeat on all three foam pieces.
- Glue four matchboxes to the wrong side of one piece of paper-wrapped foam. The foam should extend about 1/8" beyond the edge of the boxes (figure D).
- Glue another piece of paper-wrapped foam on top of the foam boxes, add another layer of four boxes, and top with the third piece of foam.
- Add drawer pulls to each of the matchbox fronts. Ours were small beads through which I threaded a double strand of cord, knotted at one end to prevent it from slipping through the hole, and tied it to a piece of matchstick on the inside of the drawer (figure E).
Materials and steps for large matchbox version:
Four large matchboxes
Four wooden drawer pulls for feet
Gift-wrapping paper
Decorative tissue paper
Acrylic paints or paint pens
Craft knife
White glue, Mod Podge or decoupage adhesive
Very small screws
Wooden dowel
Optional: decorative braid for wrapping
Optional: tassels
- Remove inside of box (drawer), and remove matches. Cut three pieces of tissue to cover box. Cut one piece long enough to go around the entire drawer. Coat drawer inside and out with Mod Podge, adhesive, etc., and smooth paper into place (figure F). Cut other two pieces of tissue long enough to come from underneath up the ends and down into the drawer. Apply as stated (figure G).
- To cover the outside of the box, slip a craft knife under the glued edge and carefully pull it apart so that it becomes a flat strip. Paint the inside (optional). I used a wide paint pen by ZIGB. and covered the outside with gift-wrap, using spray adhesive to attach. To put the box cover back together, place it around the inside (drawer) box. Secure with glue (figure H).
- Place a very small screw at one end of the drawer, and screw on a small slice of wooden dowel for a drawer pull. Paint and cover with tiny beads glued to hold (figure I).
- Place two matchboxes side by side, then measure, cut and cover three pieces of foam board as for steps 3 and 4 of the updated version. As before, the foam board should be cut 1/4" larger on two sides.
- Glue two matchboxes side by side to one piece of paper-covered foam. The foam should extend 1/8" beyond the boxes.
- Top the two boxes with another piece of the foam, tw
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