My father asked us to make a custom box for my mother’s ashes when she passed.  During the design process it was determined that we would make it big enough to hold both my parents when they passed.  My father had a favorite picture of them from one of the family weddings that he wanted incorporated.

My father wanted the coloring of the box to be light and simple.  We had some curly maple that we have had in stock for years that Mark was saving for a special project.  We decided this was the perfect wood for the project. We wanted a little bit of detail to the top and we also wanted the curve of the top to go slope down toward the picture.  We custom built the frame but we did use a piece of trim from Home Depot to give us the texture.  The box was put together using dovetails.  We hand made the latches from Osage wood to add just a little color.  We used clear poly on the box to keep it a natural maple color.

 

We didn’t want the hinges to be seen from the outside so we used a special hinge and embedded them into the wood.  We used rare earth magnets to help keep the box closed so it couldn’t accidentally open.

 

The photo my father wanted was an 8×10 colored photo.  It was determined that the photo wasn’t large enough for the box but a 11×14 was going to be too big.  To get the custom size needed we enlarged the picutre and then blended in a border to 11×14 so that we could then cut it down to the size needed.  We also determined that changing the color to a sepia color matched the coloring of the box better.  We doctored the picture and then sent it to Shutterfly and had it printed on card stock.

My father was ecstatic with the final outcome.  While the box is a little bigger than expected (which was needed to allow my father’s ashes in the future), it has turned out to be a good thing.  My father has added a crucifix they used to have up in their motorhome from my brother’s funeral.  In addition, he has added my mom’s birth and death certificates and some special pictures of my mom.  On St. Valentine’s day he gave her a rose.

Rest in peace Mom.