A Box for Sophie

My niece, Sophie, turned 14 in November. She's big into crafts like I am, so I decided to make her a cartonnage box to store all her craft accoutrements. Her mom, Becky, helped me choose the fabrics, and I made her Claudia Squio's fabric treasure chest with hidden compartment. This box is very similar to others I've made, but the magnetic-closure hidden compartment was a new element that I wanted to try. And I thought it was kind of unique and might appeal to a teenage girl.

I won't show any of the steps because this was a paid course, and I don't want to take anything away from the original creator. But I can show you pictures of the finished product, and if you like the box, the course (and a kit) are available through the website linked above. 

I had to wait a while to post about this one because Sophie lives a couple hours away from me and it took us two months to find a time when she and I were both in the same place at the same time. But at long last, I was able to give this to her in January. Here's the completed box:

I love the colors and patterns of the fabrics Becky and I picked out. I feel like they're elegant and feminine, but not little girly or anything she might grow out of.

I also used some soft gray fabrics on the inside tray:

Underneath the tray there are little compartments on the right side for her to store small things:

On the left side, there's a little blue ribbon that lifts up to reveal a shallow, but slightly longer compartment that I think might be good for some of her crafting tools:

And then comes the fun surprise. This is the back of the box:

It looks fairly normal, but there's actually a magnetic closure on it (so clever of Claudia!) that opens up:

And there on the lower right is a little hidden drawer where Sophie can put anything special or secret that she likes:

And that is the box for Sophie! I really think this is such a cute and clever design for a box. It was a little trickier than some I've made in the past. But it was well worth the effort.

I'm happy to say that Sophie loved the box. She thought the colors were soooo pretty and thought the secret drawer in the back was really cool. I feel the same way and secretly wanted to keep it a little bit. 😂 I told her ahead of time that if she didn't like the gift, she could just tell me and I'd give her cash instead. But alas for me, she loved it and definitely wanted to keep it. But I'm really happy she liked it so much. It's always so gratifying when someone really loves something I've handmade for them. Makes it all worth it. 😊