Custom Recipe Boxes

It's been a while since I updated in here, and for that, I apologize. Life, and work, has kept me busy, to the point that my woodburning activies got put on hold. Which usually is no big deal, but a couple months ago, a friend asked me to make a couple boxes for him. Since then, he's requested a total of 4 boxes, and he'll be buying one of the other boxes in my store already.

As of yesterday, I got half of his order done. The two recipe boxes are now listed on Etsy for his purchase. I wanted to take a few minutes to share about the process involved in customizing something like this.

My first step is to design the pattern that will be burned onto the box. That usually starts with me cutting out thin tracing paper in the shape of each panel on the box. Having these the right size makes it easier to visualize and orient any designs onto the box.

When I have patterns that are connected from one panel to another, as was the case with this celtic knotwork box, it takes a little extra effort, lining up the pieces of paper when tracing the pattern from the book or computer screen.

Here you can see all the pieces of paper after I had traced the knotwork onto them.

Next comes lining up the pieces of paper onto the box, with a piece of tracing paper in between. After taping each one down exactly where I want it (so it doesn't move), I meticulously go over each line I traced from the pattern, with enough force to leave the lines on the sanded box. These serve as the outline for my burning later on. See?

Sometimes this is a simple task, and only takes 30 min to an hour. This box took me almost 1.5 hrs to trace, not to mention how long I spent working with the pattern in the first place designing what was in my head. But I wanted to make sure it was just right and would look fantastic.

Finally, I can burn the design onto the box. I actually finished this one in 3 sittings. First, because I was not entirely in the right frame of mind, I spent about 45 min doing the word Recipes on the front. Second sitting, I spent about 3 hours doing the knotwork that encircled the lid of the box. I finished the rest in a 4 hour sitting on the next night I had off from work.

The last step in the process is to seal the wood with a finish. I use a glossy acrylic sealer that I picked up from the craft store. A light sanding between coats ensures a shiny finish when it is all done.

Normally something that took me so long to make would cost about $75. Custom order pricing is determined once most of the work is done. I'm willing to work with you, as well, so don't hesitate to ask. At this time, I have no more recipe card-sized boxes like this to burn, but I have other ones I can work with.

Hope you enjoyed!
~ Sunfire