The long wait should soon be over

The new box book is not yet generally available, but I just got my advance copy. That convinced me beyond a doubt that it's really going to happen! The picture above is of one of the projects, a little ring box, made using little brass barrel hinges and containing a velvet-covered insert for a small ring. It took a while to figure out how to make a professional-looking insert that was inexpensive and easy, but I finally nailed it. This project is one of several small jewelry boxes that are quite professional looking, and should make great gifts or crafts fair items.

The new book is about 40 pages longer than the bowl book, although it contains the same number of projects. Since many of the projects were different from each other, a lot more photos were needed for clarity of instruction. I'm really excited about sharing my projects, and glad that the book is almost here.

The end is in sight!

I was given a week to go over the page proofs, before the book ships to China. Amazing how many mistakes there are, even after many sets of eyes have looked it over.

So, instead of making sawdust, I'm measuring patterns and trying to make things just as clear as I possibly can. I was able to get in a two-part difficulty rating system for each project, from one to three little saw blades for cutting difficulty, and one to three little sanding discs for sanding difficulty.

The first chapter is laid out as a Q&A, and looks really good. I think this approach will make it easier to get to the heart of what you need to know. And repetitive stuff, like making loops and tails, flocking interiors, and inserting barrel hinges, are put into sidebars for cross-reference.

And just to give you some idea of the variety of projects, here's one of my favorites, a double-sized ring box, made using tiny barrel hinges, and complete with velvet-covered insert. So it's not just stacked rings anymore . . .