minecraft(ing)

a few days before christmas i realized that i hadn't exactly kept the personal promise that my boys would receive something that i'd made for them. i knew they wouldn't even notice and were receiving plenty but we'd also been discussing a "token" system to help provide a bit of structure to our days (more on this later) and when i'd showed them the box i planned on using to store "redeemed" tokens, they were like, "but a minecraft chest would be far cooler."

yes, yes it would. anything to increase motivation to use such system, once in place...

they were also getting minecraft figures for christmas and i thought a minecraft chest would be a nice way to store them. i was going to get papier mache boxes but then spied nearly perfect wooden boxes at hobby lobby: a small one for our tokens (approx. 4" x 4") and two larger ones (approx. 6" x 6") for toy storage. score!

i also picked up a bag of blank tokens (yet to be filled out) and couldn't resist the bag of 3/4" blank blocks.

then i got to crafting!

during the process i accepted that i still have no love for this sort of painting (in fact, my favorite part was sanding the boxes...) but decided to make it mine. instead of setting out for perfection, i chose, instead, to approach the task with a rustic, homespun outcome in mind.

no tape. no straight lines. started with rough outline, used a ruler as a semi-guide, and then gave up the ruler. as i knew i would do at least two coats and correct any glaring misstrokes, the brush sufficed.

 

i had considered going all out and painting different shades of browns for a more accurate, pixelated represenation, but this would do. it might have been that i was tired, that it was the eve of christmas eve, and/or that, really, this sort of crafting gives me hives, but it took more time than i'd imagined. 

for a minute i even thought of adding detailed, dividing lines on the TNT, but again, simplicity reigned, and i reminded myself that my kids don't even play with blocks (and i wasn't quite sure that these would actually hold any interest, mostly i thought they were a cute addition.)

turns out they were a huge hit on christmas morning and the boys quickly set about filling their boxes with the blocks, minecraft characters, chocolates, and other small miscellany.

i didn't make completely good on my promise, either. teen didn't get anything handmade from me but he has a birthday coming up and my fingers are itchin' to knit ;)