Monday, November 1, 2010

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…

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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.  :)

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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

32 comments:

  1. that is stunning! i love the tree design- beautiful as always. you just keep outdoing yourself!

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  2. So special. I love all of the painted designs. You did an awesome job on this one!

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  3. Oh my goodness! That is insane! Awesome work!

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  4. I have know Valerie for well over 20 yrs. I think this is so special. She told me you were working on something for her when I signed up for the projector giveaway. It is so wonderful.

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  5. WOW! That is really a lovely piece. And a very thoughtful gift. Also--I want a shipping crate! Those are so neat! Really great job. As always, I'm blown away by your talent.

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  6. OMG! It's perfect! I'm crying! Great job, once again! Thanks so much!!

    NOW...WHEN CAN I GET IT??

    =)

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  7. That's beautiful and what a special anniversary gift. I love the family tree you painted. Really lovely and a gift to be treasured.

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  8. Wow. You make me want to move back to Arizona so I can have you do all my furniture. ::sigh::

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  9. This is fantastic AM. What a brilliant idea, and so beautiful.

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  10. Perfect! I wish I had a thesaurus with me so that I could come up with something more fitting to the awesomness of this piece. Love it.

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  11. It's awesome! How do u make designs on the computer? Hi, I'm new here ;)

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  12. I am so impressed. You did a great job. I know he will be quite proud of his new treasure.

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  13. Wow, this is divine! I love the Bible verse, how special is that. Please link this up at my linky going on!

    Christa

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  14. Hi friend! This is gorgeous. Love, love, love it! I can only dream to do work like yours!

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  15. How fun and whimsical! Love it.

    -Rene

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  16. WOW!!!! What a beautiful transformation.

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  17. Beautifully done and a wonderful gift! Now I am wishing for a shipping crate like this to have fun with. This is just too creative, well done!

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  18. It's now a timeless keepsake. Love the verse and the design. Nice work!

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  19. This is gorgeous! You are a good friend.

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  20. WOW! i don't think i've seen anything on a blog that i've coveted more than this! lol beautiful.

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  21. This is just lovely...love the colors, love the art, love the intention for the piece. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  22. How did I miss this one? I didnt pop over to see it when you posted and I don't know why I didnt catch it. This is just amazing. I keep saying you are a wonderul artist and again and again you come up with something like this! People can paint furniture but this is just way over the top! Congrats!

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  23. This is really good. OK: I would like to invite you to link up on our site so our readers can find you too: http://www.finecraftguild.com/diy-linky-party-19/ Open now.

    On Wednesdays new parties open, so you can add more great tutorials as time goes on. Looking forward to seeing all your wonderful works of art! Cheers, Rose

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  24. Oh, my, gosh, I totally missed this post. One word... spectacular!

    Lori

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  25. Where can I get ahold of a shipping crate so I can make one for myself???

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  26. This is just stunning! What a makeover! Im sure the family will love this for many years to come.I am now your newest follower!

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  27. I absolutely adore this! What an amazing gift. Thank you so much for sharing it!

    KareyEllen
    KareyEllenDesigns.blogspot.com

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  28. Okay, now I am a follower! You took an ugly shipping crate and turned it into this beauty. Unreal! Terry

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We love lovely gals showin' some love!