A very special gift - the beginning

I enjoy making things. I've been trying to get my craft on more this year than I have in the past couple of years. While a lot of the crafts I've been doing revolve around things for Charlotte, they are crafts none the less. There's something about taking a material of some sort and making it into something wonderful and appreciated. Whether it be painting, sewing, knitting, card making, scrapbooking, woodworking, baking or cooking, it's the act of making something into nothing that's so wonderful. 

Today, while Mom kindly looked after Harrison, Dad and I went and bought the wood for my next project. My Dad does a lot of woodworking and has made some beautiful pieces of furniture over the years, a couple of which I am the proud owner of. I've made a couple if pieces over the years myself (with a lot of help from Dad) namely a towel/blanket rack and a coffee table. 

Soon after Charlotte was born, I started thinking about her first birthday and what we were going to get her for a gift. I decided that I wanted to make her something that she could keep forever. I thought about a jewelry box or a similar keepsake but I decided against that. I then thought about a chest of some sort. When I was living home and after I had a towel rack under my belt, I thought about making a hope chest of some sort. Not for my bountiful dowry, but rather to hold blankets and such when I finally got a place of my own. I even had pictures of the one I wanted made. Well, time passed, I moved away, and said chest was never made. 

Well, 10 years later, I found myself thinking about that chest. I decided to make something like that for Charlotte. It would be a piece of furniture that would grow with her as she grew. It would start out as a toy chest and then, when she had her own place, we/she could line it with cedar and put blankets or whatever she wanted in it. So, that's what I decided to make for her. Of course it wasn't going to be just a plain box. I decided to make it into a bench with a back and arm rests. It took 3 months to make (I went to Mom & Dad's 1-2 times a week) and well, Charlotte now has a piece of furniture that I hope she'll appreciate when she gets older and treasure like I do the pieces Dad made for me. 

Starting Charlotte's gift

She seemed to like it....

Doing a little chisel work

The final product

As for Harrison, as the weeks pass, I'll show you my progress. We have the wood, a plan, and next week, we'll begin. I'm looking forward to spending time with Dad in the shop and giving Mom (and Dad) a chance to bond with Harrison (we'll probably go when Charlotte is in daycare) over the next couple of months. More importantly, I'm looking forward to making Harrison's 1st birthday gift. A gift I hope he'll cherish forever and know how very much I love him.