Craft: Year of the Rabbit baby memory box
Our son and daughter-in-law are expecting a baby in October, so many of my craft projects will be gifts for our little, still-nameless, girl.
I had the idea to make this memory box when I was cleaning up my crafts room and stumbled over two heavy weight cardboard boxes someone had given me, one from an iPod and another from an iPad. They were both much too well made to toss into the recycling bin and I was saving them for something special.
I stopped cleaning and started crafting. (This is why my studio never is neat.)
Since our daughter-in-law is half Chinese, I thought it would be fun to make something for the baby that would acknowledge her being born in the Year of the Rabbit. Hopefully, mom will put in here lots of mementos from baby’s first year.
Year of the Rabbit Memory Box
Note: Feel free to personalize the box as you like. Most importantly, see if you can make this box without buying a thing. Use what you have on hand, create items or trade.
Supplies
1 sturdy box, large enough to hold memory items, mine is 8″x10″ and 2″ tall
A variety of coordinating papers
Paper or fabric lace
Rabbit punch or rabbit stamp or print out pictures of rabbits that can be cut out
1 cotton ball
Small flower punch or pictures from a magazine or ones you’ve printed
“Jewels”
2 artificial flowers
1 sheet vellum paper
Scissors
Glue
Sandpaper
How-to
1. Cut strip from one piece of paper to cover about 3/4ths of top of box and a strip from another piece of fill in the rest. Glue down.
2. When dry, use sandpaper to lightly go over all four edges.
3. Cut strips for sides of top. If a strip is not long enough fill in with other small pieces. Glue down.
4. When dry, sandpaper top edge.
5. Print out “Year of the Rabbit” in black on the vellum sheet. Cut to fit across the box and glue down on sides and bottom leaving top free.
6. Glue a strip of lace (paper or fabric) down each side of the top.
7. Cut a strip of paper to go across the middle of the box top. (Mine is approximately 2″ wide). Glue other strips on top as per the picture.
8. Make four rabbits by using the rabbit punch, stamping or printing them out on brown paper and cutting out. Glue down.
9. Take a small bit of cotton ball and rubbing it between your fingers to make the rabbit’s tail. Repeat for additional three rabbits, then glue down.
10. Punch out nine flowers and glue them wherever you like around the words.
11. Glue one “jewel” in the middle of each flower.
12. Glue on the three artificial flowers.
Here’s a matching frame I made with the iPod box. If you want to do the same and find a similar box, just cover it with papers to match the box.
If you make a similar memory box, would love to see it. Link in the comment section.
I love the idea… I only knew what year I was born in when I went to a Chinese buffet and saw it on the place mat, but after marrying into a Chinese family, I realized what that animal meant and I began to take pride in it. This is a special gift, that sets the tone right away.