Brief personal update
You're probably wondering where I've been. Basically, my promotion at work turned out to be hella stressful and overwhelming. It was also performance review season, which forcibly reminded me of the Hunger Games and required me to defend my team to the death from a Machiavellian concept called unregretted attrition. And though I did successfully defend them, it was a Pyrrhic victory for me.
In the midst of the resulting burnout and mental exhaustion, the company suddenly issued a mandate for all employees to return to offices, even those of us who, like me, were hired on the understanding that we would be fully remote. I couldn't bear the thought of adding hours of commuting just to go into a crowded office to continue to telework with my entire team and other colleagues (none of whom live in the same state as I do).
So I found a new, fully remote job at a really cool startup, promptly quit my old job, and went on vacation with my siblings to St. Kitts and Nevis to celebrate my sister's birthday. 😊
It was so beautiful there. Here is my favorite view from Shipwreck Bar:
Isn't it incredible?! Like something out of a CGI film. Surreally stunning.
And here's one of me and my three siblings—from left to right, Chris, Ryan, Ashley, and me (taken by my brother's fiancée, Becky)—after an extremely challenging hike to the top of the Mt. Liamuiga volcano (the crater is behind us):
Cartonnage
But enough about my personal life and on to today's topic: some more cartonnage! I broke out my chipboard, fabrics, and glue to make another gift for someone. (I will probably be doing a lot of that this year, as my relatives are really loving my cartonnage boxes.)
My brother Ryan's oldest child, Hal, loves cross-stitching and will be turning 21 in just over a month. I adore Hal and wanted to make them a special gift for their special birthday. I gave them some really nice embroidery scissors for Christmas, but I noticed they didn't have anywhere special to store the scissors or their other stitching paraphernalia. So I decided to make another treasure chest like the French country one I did last year (it's the last cartonnage box in that post). I let Hal pick the fabrics, and they went with some really fun ones, as befits their fun, quirky personality. 😊
They obviously know I'm making them something, but they don't know exactly what and haven't seen the finished box yet because I want it to be a surprise. As they don't read this blog, I think I'm safe in posting it here (if you know Hal, don't forward them the link!!). So here is the finished treasure chest:
Hal loves cherries and so went with this bright, buttery yellow cotton covered in cherries for the main fabric. They are also a fan of green and chose this leafy green fabric for an accent color. It matches the stems on the cherries really well.
Here's the box opened up:
The deep yellow plaid was the third fabric Hal chose, and I think it complements the other two perfectly. The little tray in the top lifts out via the ribbon tabs on either side to reveal four more compartments underneath:
I tried to do different sizes and shapes for these compartments than those in the top tray so that Hal could fit whatever they need to in the box. The big drawer at the bottom should fit anything too long or large for the upper compartments:
I love how bright and cheerful the box turned out. The colors and patterns suit Hal to a T, and I really hope they'll love it. They probably will. Hal is one of the most gracious, kind-hearted, appreciative people I've ever known. Here's hoping their 21st is their best birthday yet! 😊
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