We brought our printer's box from Illinois with us but couldn't find a place to put it in the house. At first we thought we'd just pack it away but it was hanging in our Illinois home for 30 years or so and we felt bad tucking it away in a closet. The printer's tray used to be filled with tiny things like a thimble collection I started, Art's old Air Force eagles, his dad's shaver, a commencement ticket from Tif's University of Illinois graduation, Jon and Art's Kilimanjaro patch (they climbed it), my grandmother's sweater guard (nobody uses those things anymore), tiny pebbles from here and there around the world, shells, ticker tapes from several important parades in Chicago, very old Mickey Mouse pocket knives, a lot of other things and oh yes, printing letters.
Well, we finally found a spot to hang our printer's box. But then Art said he didn't want to just put it up and have it collect dust. With all those tiny things, it's miserable to keep clean and we get a LOT of dust in Hawaii.
Art wanted to put some kind of dust barrier in front of the box. Glass was considered and then we decided on Plexiglas. My brother said we could get it cut for us at Min Plastic in Honolulu.
The next challenge was how to get the Plexiglas to stay on. Wood brackets? Some kind of metal thing? And how? Min Plastic said they could fabricate it... for a price. (Click on this photo to see the clear plastic brackets more clearly.)
They did a great job, Art put it all together and we're quite pleased with the finished effect.
And now... on to the next project!
Lovely! Your house is shaping up very nicely, Kay. It's fun to see you decorate it. Has your mattress arrived yet? Hope you can get it up the stairs and around the bend.
ReplyDeleteA printer's tray--from before the world of print went digital. Cool.
ReplyDeleteWill you ever run out of projects? :)
Fantastic Idea!...
ReplyDeleteI hate little trinkets simply for that reason,...dust! the cleaning is maddening....
great idea indeed!
Have a good day, hope to see you by my place soon.
I remember your printer box, I have one too. I got mine at a garage sale in Evanston, I think after I saw yours. I'm sure that it was after yours. Maybe you were even with me when I bought it.
ReplyDeleteWe did lov to hang out at garage sales on Thurs and Fri!
Yours looks so great, I'm now wondering where mine is after so many years! Jimmy gonna love this question.."honey where do you think my old printers box is..."
WOW!
ReplyDeleteWonderful, Kay
Aloha from down the coast....
Comfort Spiral
I saw a box just like that today at the home of a couple who just returned from China teaching English over there. It was filled with fun souvenirs from there. Fun idea. You guys are such busy bees. Good idea not to have to dust them.
ReplyDeleteI think the printer's tray looks lovely! What a great job!!
ReplyDeleteLooking good!!It's kind of like a time capsule noting all of the events that it holds... memories and accomplishments!
ReplyDeleteHow cool is that? I had a great print tray and some printers block letters that I got from my uncle when he sold his old printing press... somehow, I lost them. sniffle...
ReplyDeleteYours looks great! It's a mighty fine way to keep those momentos to the foreground of your thoughts.
You guys certainly keep yourselves busy!
Thanks for this idea. I have a box like that (not authentic) that I wanted to use in the classroom and now I have a way to keep those little fingers away!
ReplyDeleteEvelyn in Montreal
what a great project, love the idea of the dustcover and having a place for lovely treasures.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea. I love the look of the box hanging on the wall. How neat to have special memories right where you can always see them, instead of packed away.
ReplyDeleteImpressive! Can't wait to see it.
ReplyDeleteYou found a clever way to have your treasures with no work involved. Good your you. I'm glad you put your old keepsakes in your new house. Those are important artifacts in your life.
ReplyDeleteoh wow,i really Love what you did with it! i wish i had something like that to put trinkets on the wall, maybe i'll paint it white too:) Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteThat looks great Kay..Really you get a lot of dust..I do hate to dust so it's good that you found a solution to that...
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to have somewhere to put all those little nick-nacks and memories.
ReplyDeleteGigi: The mattress arrives tomorrow and I'm keeping my fingers crossed about getting it up to the 2nd floor.
ReplyDeleteDina: We've got projects galore for at least the next 5 years.
Rhapsody: It really is nice to have a place to store those little mementos.
Peggy: Those were the good ol' days wasn't it? Now the garage sales have been sort of exchanged for Craigslist. I wonder where your printer's box is. Ahhh...Jim?
Cloudia: Hi there! It really is fun.
Lin: The best part IS truly not having to dust!
Sherri: Thanks, Sherri. It feels good to have it done.
Mare: You're right! It is a time capsule for us. There's even colorful miniature animals that my daughter made when she was in grade school; my son's Peace Corps pin...
Caryn: I'm sorry you lost your printer's tray. I feel like we've got a To-Do list a mile long.
Evelyn: I taught 1st grade and I know what you mean about little fingers.
Christine: We sure do get a lot of dust. We have the trade winds coming down the mountain which keeps us cooler but it does bring the dust with it.
Cheryl: Thanks, Cheryl. I do love to look at it.
Tif: I can't wait for you to see it. I've got little things on top that KC can play with, too.
Linda: Putting those little artifacts from our past up in our new place really makes it feel more like home here.
Rachel: Thanks, Rachel. It is fun to arrange things in it.
Michelle: I definitely hate to dust. My mother on the other hand is always dusting but dusting under those teeny tiny things would drive her nuts.
Amanda: I'm glad that's one project done because we've now got 999 more.
Love the printer's box, filled with treasures of your past. It looks great on your wall, Kay.
ReplyDeleteIf that is it you guys did a good job covering it with Plexiglas.
ReplyDeleteI love your printer's tray. I need to start looking out for them too. I am exchanging thimbles with Highland quilter who is starting to use hers:
ReplyDeletehttp://highlandquilter.blogspot.com/2009/07/calling-all-thimble-collectors.html
Your home is getting lovelier and lovelier.
Very cool, Kay. My mom has a similar display of things/pictures that remind us of Dad (who passed away in May of 2007). They both look lovely.
ReplyDeleteOh, and we call it a Shadow Box, it has fewer sections, but the idea is the same--a place to display memories.
ReplyDelete