Move over, y’all.  I have my own glazier now.

Jealous?  Yes, I can now get glass cut to any size I want, any time I want, between 8 – 5 Monday through Friday.

This specimen box project required that I get some glass or Plexiglas® cut to the size of the lid of my “sturdy gift box.”  Martha was all nonchalant, like, “Have your glazier cut a piece of glass to size,” like it’s totally normal for everyone to have their own personal glazier.  I didn’t really even know what a glazier was.

But I looked one up in the yellow pages (online, of course– does anyone use the paper phone book anymore?), found one, called him, and headed out to get my glass.  And you know what?  It was really pretty easy.  I’m usually kind of terrified of things outside my comfort zone, so these wild-goose-chase-fruitless-shopping missions are, in some ways, a good thing for me (pace, Martha).  They force me to try something new and learn some helpful things.  So now, if I need glass, I’m not intimidated.

The specimen box is, admittedly, pretty cool.  It’s pretty easy to make, except for the glazier part.  It’s kind of like a shadow box that’s meant to sit on a table.  You use a shallow gift box, cut a hole in the top, cover it with glass and some pretty paper, and put your display inside.

Again, I didn’t have anything to display, so I went out to the yard and gathered some nature.  Here’s how it turned out:

It looks kinda pretty, no?  It’d be much nicer if I actually had something significant to put in it.

with the lid off, you can see the way it's constructed

Here’s what the lid looks like from the inside, where I cemented the glass to the box.

A few hiccups on this one:

• I’ve covered the glazier issue above.  Not really that hard (if you live in a big city, I suppose), but definitely something you need to put some effort and thought into.
• To really make a display that works, you need a pretty shallow, sturdy gift box.  This item was harder to come by than I expected.  I thought I was going to use a shoe box, since it’s just about the sturdiness that you need.  But a shoe box, I realized, is way too deep.  The items inside will get lost from view.  A shirt box, like the ones you get at the department store and the Gap as gift boxes, is about the right size, but way too flimsy.  I happened to have this random box laying around from some stationery, so that’s what I used, but I’m not sure most people would have one.  I subsequently and by total coincidence discovered that the Container Store carries sturdy gift boxes in a jillion sizes, so that could work.
• I’m not sure Martha’s measurements for the decorative paper work out so well.  She says to add an additional 1/2″ on all sides of your box measurements, and I even added an extra inch and still my paper was a little too short to fold over easily.  Plus, you really have to center your box perfectly when you adhere it if your paper is only exactly the right size.  So I’d be generous on the paper size for safety.

TIME INVESTED

About 1 1/2 hours

DIFFICULTY

Easy

TOTAL COST

• decorative paper, $5.00
• spray adhesive, $6.99
• glass, $3.00 (can you believe that’s all it cost me???)
• gift box, $4.99

Total = $19.98

WAS IT WORTH IT?

I think so.  It would be a perfect way to display a collection that you don’t want to hang on the wall.  And it really was simple.

SOURCES

Try The Container Store for boxes, and check yellowpages.com for a glazier in your area.

We’re headed to family camp for the next week, and I’m SO GLAD I’m done with the Albums section!  Letter A, defeated!  Next up is Beading, so I’m taking my beads with me and hope to FINISH that section in a week.  Wish me luck!

Share!

•