Birthday boy's navy box

here is the finished block before making it into a box.

I'm quite pleased with how this one came out.

I got nice and fancy detailed with out getting too "girlie"
the goldwork is done with cheep christmas braid and elastic chord.
be careful using the elastic stuff because it real easy to pull to hard when going through the fabric and puckering your work. it's best to pull out a little extra and couch it as you go around, pulling in the exess when you have gotten to the end. that way your not working with a wadded, puckering piece that wont stay flat. the styalized fish was a bonus find at my local bead shop in country villiage.

I love how the lacy bits make the waves look "foamy" I added some clear opalescent beads to add to the "choppy wave" feeling.


why is it so hard to add a little extra to these braids? it seems like every time I do I end up staring at it for a day trying to decide what to put there to make it "go". since I didn't want to get to fancy with it, I stared at it a lot!


my favorite spot on this piece is the "ships wheel" detailing across the top just enough bling to satisfy my need to layer stuff but not enough for my son to wig out!

and heres the finished piece what do you think?
appropriately manly for a 20 year old?

should I do a tut on making a top into a box?
let me know by leaving a comment.