This week’s Weekword is box, and it was chosen by Katy over at Creating Misericordia. If you go and visit her blog you’ll be able to see what she’s written, as well as a list of the other participants.
Boxes, and tins, are one of my major weaknesses. I’m a complete sucker for a pretty box, which leads to arguments in my own head when I see one…. “It’s gorgeous, I want it… I don’t need it… but it’s so pretty!… what on earth will I do with all the stuff in it?… use it, or give it away… then I’m paying a ridiculous amount for just a box… but it’s so pretty!…”
You get the picture.
Sometimes I manage to justify the purchase of a new box (and, to be fair, I do use them all … even if I have to invent uses for them…), and sometimes I don’t. I’m justifying them more and more these days, even though I’m running out of room to put them, because there’s nothing worse than thinking “I’ll get it next time” only to find that it’s gone when you go back to the shop. Anyway, enough waffling, I’ll get on with it and show you some of my favourite boxes.
This lovely tin was the deciding factor in my purchase of notecards from Architette. I’d been ogling her work for quite some time, especially this particular set with the red tin/box (and it has to be said that as beautiful as the cards are, the tin was a major attraction for me). In the end it was the fact that she was down to her last red box that made me snap and buy it.
I have a rather large collection of hatboxes from Lush which I’ve acquired over the years. Thankfully I managed to pick most of them up in the sales (they used to do the most amazing post-Christmas sale where if you spent £15 you could choose any gift that had been made prior to December that year for free), thus saving myself an absolute fortune (I spent £45 one year, on staples like shampoo and shower gel, and got three fabulous hatboxes stuffed full of bath bombs and other luxuries as my free gifts).
Yup, that’s a lot of hatboxes (and it doesn’t include all of them either…)! They’re great for storage though and are variously home to socks, yarn, scraps of leather, gloves/hats, and pretty much anything else that’ll fit inside them.
Next up is this lovely wooden box. Technically it’s a toy chest (and quite a large one at that), but let’s not be too picky eh? I picked this up for just £5 from the bric-a-brac stall at a school fete. Bargain!
I do like unusual boxes, and here are some of my favourites.
Two beautiful wooden safes made by Marian of Ustabee. I love the vintage post office doors, and these boxes add a classic yet quirky feel to my mantlepiece.
I think my dad got this when he worked for a shop that sold bookbinding supplies. It’s gorgeous, and I store posh stamps (presentation packs) in it.
This one came from a car boot sale many years ago, my mum came home with it and I confiscated it from her and haven’t given it back since!
That’s a taster of my box collection, and I hope you’ve enjoyed it!
