Ash's kinda Late Gift...not my fault!

I finally gave Ashley her graduation/birthday gift late enough to practically tack a "/christmas" onto it as well. I want to note that this is not my fault, well, at least not entirely. I began this project in July and finished it in September, which I guess even then would technically still make it a late gift...but as late?...I digress!

The gift was the a carved wooden box, not terribly large but not particularly small either, the kind that is perfect to place on ones dresser or perhaps nightstand and keep important little things in. The project began with the acquiring of some hand carving tools my dad had, followed by a bit of practice and the purchase of wood. The idea to make a box like this came from a gift I received on my High School graduation from a gentlemen at my church.

Below is a picture of box lid, still unstained. The wood is a piece of hard cherry which, using a combination of hand tools, dremel and soldering iron I carved/burned to create the result below. I would also like to note that this lid was extremely difficult to get rimmed to the size I needed, I actually had to go to a cabinet shop to get it cut right. Bloody hardwoods...at any rate...
after they asked what I was making I couldn't help but notice them raises an eyebrow as i responded with "The project is ambitious beyond your imaginations wildest comprehensions" :)


Moving on! The picture above ,however, was merely the lid, the remainder of the box was made from glued slabs of light bass wood. The only of place with burning/carving was on the bottom of the inside of the box. The image below shows a stage on minimal carving to this section inwhich I had been experimenting with using burning to create definition.

Finally with the carving done and sanded smooth I added a mahogany stain for the final result. i was particularly pleased with the look of the stain over the burnt shading of the bottom image. All in all a deam this project a sucess.