An Anniversary Hope Chest

My good friend, Valerie, talked to me back when I did the Pirate Toy Chest about doing a Hope Chest out of the same kind of shipping crate for an anniversary gift for her husband for their 5th wedding anniversary.  Valerie has gotten her husband a traditional anniversary gift each year of their married life, and the 5th anniversary (lucky for me) is the “wood” anniversary.  :)

The idea for the trunk was almost completely Valerie’s, and I hope I fulfilled her wishes for it.  Their wedding bible verse was John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”  She wanted that incorporated in a scrolly vine design, along with their wedding date and anniversary date.  On the inside lid, I did a family tree, that can be added to the keepsake throughout the years.  I believe she plans on keeping it at the end of their bed and saving keepsakes inside.  Now THAT’S lovely!

It began it’s life as a shipping crate, a dime a dozen from my hubby’s work…

I stripped out the innards, sanded the living heck out of it, added some feet to raise it up to bench height, and painted it a deep, metallic bronze.  I composed the vine design, incorporating the couple’s bible verse on the computer, printed it out and projected it on the front of the trunk with my Artograph Super Prism.  I painted the design in metallic gold paint.  Then I painted the “family tree” on the inside lid with the same metallic gold paint and Mod Podged some little torn rectangles of craft paper with the couple’s and their kiddos names and birthdays on them.  I sewed a liner out of a burgandy fabric to coordinate with their bedding.  I still need to poly it, but here’s the (almost) finished product.  :)

Here’s to many, many, many more years of wedded bliss for my friend Vallerie and the love of her life!!

 

Linking to:  Domestically Speaking, Stories of a House, Primitive and Proper, My Backyard Eden, Somewhat Simple, Funky Junk Interiors, My Repurposed Life