Monday 27 May 2013

Earring Insert For Jewellery Gift Box - Tutotial



In my last post, I showed you a cute little gift box that I made to give to my mum for mother's day. I wanted to put a gorgeous pair of earrings inside that I bought from my friend at Janey Jewels but I didn't want them to just sit in the bottom of the box. I got thinking and came up with a simple design for an insert that would display the earrings nicely to make a lovely gift.
The tutorial for the gift box can be found HERE if you missed it.
Janey Jewels specialises in handmade jewellery featuring one-off and custom designs. You can check out the Facebook page here and the etsy store here, I recommend you check out the gorgeous designs, my favourites are the 'Lauren' earrings  :)


Materials

  • Earrings
  • Rubber backings for earrings (optional)
  • Empty cardboard food package
  • Scrapbook paper
  • Tissue paper
  • Sewing needle
  • Scissors
  • Glue stick
  • Ruler 
  • Lead pencil


Directions
1. Firstly measure the inside of your box so you know what size you need your insert to be. I took 1 mm off the top and 1 mm off one side so that it would fit in snugly but not get stuck.

2. Open up the sides of an empty cardboard food package (eg: cereal box) and lay it flat. Mark out your insert with a ruler and lead pencil. You want it to be as accurate as you can so you might need to use a set square to check the angles (I just used a piece of copy paper straight from the ream to check).


3. Cut the insert out carefully along the lines. Check if it fits nicely inside the box. If not trim slightly til it does fit. (please disregard the second piece of cardboard in the second pic, I was going to use a second piece but didn't need to).



4. Now cut some scrapbook paper out which is about half a centimetre longer on each side than the insert. Glue the scrapbook paper on, folding the excess over the back and gluing the flaps in place. You can leave the insert as it is now (because you wont see the back when it sits in the box), but I wanted to make the back look tidy as well. I cut another piece of paper out just a little bit smaller than the insert and stuck it on the back.


5. Time to make the holes for the earrings. Mark the spot you want your earrings to hang from with lead pencil. I decided that I didn't want mine to sit exactly side by side, I thought it would look more interesting to have one higher than the other.
Using a sewing needle, pierce holes in the 2 spots you marked out. You will need to be careful about what surface you use when doing this, you don't want to mark an expensive piece of furniture. I actually used my  chopping board to make sure that I didn't stab myself in the fingers, you could use a thimble as well if you are worried about this (I am a little accident prone so I try to be careful about these sorts of things).



6. Thread the earrings into the insert and place rubber backings on the back if you have some (this will keep them in place in the insert). Sometimes earrings will come with them, if not you can buy some from ebay for a  small cost. I find it handy to have a bunch of spares, I often lose my earring backs and the rubber ones don't irritate my ears like metal ones. Put the insert and earrings aside for now.



7. Since the insert is flat, you don't want to place it directly into the bottom of the gift box, it will sink down into the bottom and look less desirable. I was sitting on the lounge room floor with my daughter helping her make a cute 3D flower card (A project I will be posting soon) with scrunched up crepe paper. Inspiration then hit. I got out some tissue paper and cut a sheet into small pieces, about 3 x 5 cm. I then scrunched them up into balls. Don't scrunch them too tightly or you will have to do twice as many. If you get bored doing this take a break and come back to it later or get the kids to give you a hand.




8. Place the tissue paper balls into the bottom of your gift box, you want to aim to have it filled up a little over two thirds of the way. Gently press the tissue paper balls to smooth them out so they are level. Now pop your insert on top and you are done. Place the lid on top and give to someone you love.





I had so much fun making this and always love when a project in my head comes to life and is completed. I love it even more when I can create a lovely handmade gift the I can give to someone I love.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post, let me know what you think by leaving a comment below  :)

3 comments:

  1. Hey lovely!!
    Welcome to blogland!! It looks like your off the a wonderful start!!
    I promise, that project is SO easy you and you baby can have one! lol
    thank you SO much for stopping by!!!
    Giant Hugs!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for your lovely comment :)
      You have convinced me, I am going to make 2 (at least) of your gorgeous bird hoops.
      I look forward to visiting you again to see what wonderful things you come up with, LOVE your blog so much :)

      Delete
  2. Thanks so much for letting me know, I linked up and loved the great range of projects on display :)

    ReplyDelete