Project 20: Eye, Eye Captain!

Even though it's Monday, this is last week's project. Oops. Better late than never I suppose. For this project, I decided to make something for me! My glasses case is falling apart, so I decided to make myself a new one. A glass box is pretty, but certainly not practical as an eyeglass case. I can't really throw it into my bag and hit the road. So I guess I can't replace my crappy glasses case quite yet. 

See? Falling apart.

The Process:

So I decided to base my box around a geode type thing that I found at the Bead Garden. 

The first step was to design the box. I made a pattern and cut out my pieces.

The lid of my box was the only section that actually had a design to it, instead of being a solid sheet  of glass. So I treated the lid like it's its own separate window and put it together as such. 

Tack soldered.

I soldered it together.

Fully soldered!

After the lid was done, I focused on the rest of the box. I soldered the sides of the box together first.

Then I soldered the base of the box on.

The lid is not attached to the box itself. It's attached to a hinge, which is attached to the base of the box. I use a pin hinge for my boxes and that's basically two metal rods, one inside the other. One rod is attached to the lid and the other is attached to the base and one spins around the other. Does that make sense? I feel like that was not a good explanation, but whatever.

High tech way to attach the hinge: Masking Tape.

The final step, besides cleaning, is to attach a chain to the lid of the box. Without the chain, the lid is more likely to come off the box.

Final Product:

An artsy angle.

My glasses fit!

I feel like I'm spying on my glasses...

Exciting News: I was accepted to be a part of the Jenkintown Arts Festival. This is a juried art show, so I will get to display some of my work (maybe even sell it?). I'll post more information when the time is closer, but I'm pretty stoked about it.