Hi y'all!

I'm doing an ornament exchange and have decided to make 8 of this ornament:
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/dime-store-games-candy-cane-game?lnc=5f6ba988ffbee010VgnVCM1000003d370

The problem is I can't find those little boxes anywhere (I looked in the jewelry making/beading sections of craft stores - any other ideas?). So I thought I could make my own out of cardboard and heavy acetate (cut out a piece and fold it up to make a box, cut a piece of acetate and fold it to make the lid, tape it together and cover the tape with a ribbon).

Where can I find heavy acetate? I tried AC Moore to no avail (they had some clear plastic sheets but it was nowhere near heavy enough for this project).

Or... what else could I make it out of?

The box looks like it's made of wood...have you tried the raw wood section of the craft store?

Other than that, I think cardboard might be an ok choice.

Thanks! I think I'm fine with using cardboard for the bottom part. It's the top transparent part that I'm having trouble finding an appropriate material for

what about like a plexiglass? Go to like an architecture supply shop and get the thing they use for there models to make windows (I forget what it's called) but it's a hard clear plastic. My dh used to use it all the time and if he wasn't in meetings all day today I'd call and ask him for you. IF you still need something by the time he gets home from work I'll ask him....

love the ornament, but this is my favorite one to paint........


http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/miscchristmas/l/blphotopic135.htm



I really have to get going and start painting these for this year again.

or maybe go by one of your local craft stores and see if they can help you come up with something....or home depot?

You can find similar boxes in either the wood craft section or the paper mache section of the craft store.

Heavy acetate can be found in the quilting section. Quilters use it to make patterns. I've actually bought it at Joann's.

Thanks for the tips, y'all. I will check JoAnns... I had no idea quilters used this stuff. I have asked at craft stores, to no avail yet, but I'm not giving up! I have looked in the wood craft section but not paper mache. In thewood craft section I could only find boxes that were completely wood - no clear tops. Do you think they would have clear top ones?

If I can't get acetate I'll look into the plexiglass. I'm not sure how to use that though.

I'm back on the hunt tomorrow so I'll report back and let you know if I found it!

Thanks again!

Also check the stencil section of your local craft stores. Most stencil manufacturers also offer "uncut" stencils, which are usually just large sheets of acetate.

I found it!!!

I looked at quilters' materials first. They did have heavy mylar sheets, but only colored or opaque, not clear and transparent like I need.

Then I looked at stenciling materials. They had blank stencils as mentioned, but they were either opaque, or very lightweight (paper thin almost).

But then I found just what I needed in the artist section, where they have poster board and canvases and such. Heavy weight clear acetate sheets!!! I think that will do the trick just right. Wahoo!

Thanks sooo much for all the advice!

So glad you found what you were looking for! Don't you hate it when you just know that something has to exist out there, but just don't know where or how to find it? It drives me crazy.

It looks like one of those cheap hinged plastic boxes that pins come in from the sewing department. I can't imagine buying all those pins just to get the boxes.