Poodle's Heirloom Jewelry Box

This is the amazing Jewelry Box that GaGa made for Poodle. He gave this to her Sunday at lunch after church. He has been working on it for months now. On and off, a little bit at a time. Taking it beautifully slowly, so that the result is an heirloom piece that she will have forever. This is a shot of the top of the box. It is made from cherry - a wild tree that was harvested from the woods behind MooMoo and GaGa's house. The design on the top is a replica of Poodle's silver pacifier clip. You'll see a closer shot of that in a minute. The shine that you see is from multiple tung oil applications. You should FEEL the wood. It is as smooth as a baby's popo. Incredible - it is absolutely incredible!

This is a shot of the inside. The top tray is hinged (that's not the right word, but I'm not sure how else to describe it), so it folds up as you open the box. You can see the ring slots and the earring boxes on top, and the bottom will hold necklaces and bracelets. The top dividers and ring holders are removable and allow for customized organization! MooMoo included some pink felt which I will place in the bottom of the box for the time being. And, then, when Poodle is older, we'll put some black velvet in there.

Closer shot of the monogram on the top of the box, next to the passie clip that inspired it. You can't see the monogram on the clip very well, but the design in the wood is identical to the engraving on the silver clip! And the scrollwork around the actual monogram looks like it was stamped directly from the clip. It is an absolute work of art.

I'm trying to show a good shot of the intricate finger joints. If you run your fingers along the joints, you can hardly even feel them! The wood is so smooth.

Poodle is amazed with the box. It must make her feel so grown up! This shot shows the size of the box. Yes, she can "play" with it now, but she'll be able to use this box as an adult. And that touches my heart in a way I can't describe!

GaGa wanted to include some "real" jewelry to go in the box. BUT, I'm a meanie, and won't let Poodle have real things yet. She has some baby jewelry that I have put away for her, but other than that, if she were to get real jewelry, I'd just put it away until she was older. SO, I suggested that MooMoo get some silver charms, and some ribbon, and we'd make necklaces out of them. Then, later, we can put them on a real charm bracelet for her. This picture is sort of yucky, but it's an "S", ballet shoes, a butterfly, and a teddy bear holding an umbrella. (Poodle is into Mary Poppins right now, and loves umbrellas. Go figure).
Mom - you did GREAT with the charms. They're perfect!

Poodle modeling her ballet shoes necklace! (She chose purple ribbon for this one).

Thank you GaGa!!! I love my jewelry box!!!!!
(Thank you Dad - so much. You are an artist.)