Whenever it’s someone’s birthday and I need to find the candles and matches, I’m always fumbling around searching for them. So instead, I thought I’d make a keepsake box to hold them that is beautiful and functional to grab and use. Something that’ll become a beautiful part of our memories as we celebrate! So here’s how to make a birthday candles and matches box.

how to make a birthday candles and matches box

SUPPLIES

step 1- DESIGN THE COVER/SPINE

Start by designing the cover and spine. I’m using the online graphic design software called Pic Monkey. For the cover I used a 5.5×9″ rectangle and for the spine, I used a 1×9″ rectangle. The back design measures 3″x6″.

I put a birthday cake on front with the words “make a wish” and “Happy Birthday.” The spine has a smaller cake with the words “matches & candles.” Then the back has an image of my dog with a party hat and balloons- lol. If you want to design your own, go for it! Or I have one available as a free download.

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For this project, I’m using water soluble stabilizer paper that can go in a printer. It’s a great product because you can draw the design on, then it’s a sticker you put on top of the fabric you want to embroider. The fabric pen shows exactly where to stitch. Once the stitches are done, the stabilizer is water soluble so you can rinse it off in the sink and you’re left with just the pretty stitches.

The stabilizer paper is 8-1/2″x11″ so that’s the largest size that can be used for this project.

step 2- DRAW THE DESIGN ONTO THE WATER SOLUBLE PAPER

Next, I put the stabilizer onto a mat for the cutting machine. I loaded it into the Cricut Joy Xtra and had it draw the design onto the stabilizer. To draw on the design, I use a water soluble pen. I like using the Joy Xtra for this project, but the standard size pen doesn’t fit so I use this adapter so it can fit in the smaller machine.

Once the design is drawn onto the water soluble paper for the birthday candles and matches box, cut around the pen marks so it’s as small as possible.

step 3- CUT AND STABILIZE THE fabric

And now, it’s time to cut the Yellow Gingham Fabric that’ll go over the wooden box. I cut the fabric to 14″ x 20″.

Once the fabric is ready, cut the Heat n Bond to the same 14″x20″ size. Note, Heat n Bond is 17″ wide so I had to use two pieces to be big enough to back the fabric.

Iron the gingham fabric until it’s flat. Then put the Heat n Bond on top and iron it on. Remove the backing paper.

Next, cut a piece of tissue paper and iron it onto the Heat n Bond. So the gingham fabric will be the top layer, the heat n bond will be in the middle and the tissue will be on the bottom. Now the fabric will be nice and thick and ready to glue onto the box once the embroidery is complete. The layers prevent glue from seeping through the fabric (which results in a dark stain).

I was worried the stabilizer on the fabric would make it too thick to stitch. It was too thick to put in an embroidery hoop. But it wasn’t too hard to push the needle through.

step 4- pattern placement

Place the fabric over the book box. Then take the sticky stabilizer with the cover drawn on and place it onto the cover. Repeat with the spine and back image. Make sure the gingham fabric is lined up with the book box to get a good placement. This is marking where you will embroider so it’s important to get it right to have a good final product.

I also used a newer water soluble fabric marker to draw the design on darker. The Cricut marker is light and I wanted to be able to see the design clearly for the next embroidery step.

Note, I took this with me traveling and I didn’t protect it when I threw it in my bag. The sticky pieces got rubbed, fell off, and lost their stickiness. It was a pain to try and figure out the placement and hold them in place. I ended up folding the fabric and keeping it in a zip lock bag later. I wish I’d done that from the start.

step 5- EMBROIDER THE fabric

Next, I began to embroider the design onto the birthday candles and matches box. When embroidering, I like to use all 6 strings from the embroidery floss. This creates the boldest and most easy to see graphics. Plus, I find separating the threads annoying to do.

Here are the stitches I used with embroidery floss–

Back Stitch– I used this for all of the words and the balloon string.

Satin stitch– I used this to fill in all the graphics like the cake, dog, and balloons.

This took me weeks to complete. I took it with me to Germany, Austria, Italy, and Sweden. It was so nice to have something to work on during train rides, plane rides, and while waiting for food at restaurants.

Once the design was completely embroidered on, I rinsed the stabilizer and pen off in warm water. This is a very satisfying step! The linen and the stitches are all that are left.

STEP 6- APPLY THE fabric TO THE BOX

Finally, it’s time to glue the new fabric cover onto the wood box. For that, I used Elmer’s glue and a large foam brush for the cover and spine.

To begin, brush the glue onto the cover, back and spine to hold the fabric in place. At this point the fabric should be a little bigger than needed.

Next, push the fabric onto the inside of the cover and mark where the fabric hits the pages with a water soluble fabric marker. Use scissors to cut on the line. Cut the corners off at a 45 degree angle a few centimeters from the book corners.

Use a foam brush to apply glue to the edge of the fabric and the inside of the book. Start with the top and bottom of the book.

Push the fabric in place. Sometimes this is tricky and takes time to work it into place. Using a bone folder helps as well.

Once the top and bottom of the book are complete, push the corners in with a bone folder. Then, glue down the side of the box. Take your time, get used to the idea your fingers will be covered in glue. And you’ll get a nicely covered box.

For the inside cover I cut a 9.25″x6.75″piece of book binding cloth to cover up the raw edges of the gingham fabric. Just use more Elmer’s glue to tack that in place. I’m thinking about printing a pretty page with all of my family’s names and birthdays- I think that could be a nice touch!

after

And here is the birthday candles and matches box! I LOVE how it turned out!

I’ve seen someone else do a hand painted version, but since I love embroidery, this seemed like a nice way to make it my own.

To me, I really like the idea that I have something special to pull out for every birthday. I hope this becomes an object my son associates with the happiest days of his childhood.

And who knows? Maybe one day it can be a family heirloom. Passed on to be used for making birthdays special.

Mostly I made this as a beautiful way to store candles and matches for birthdays. And I’m so glad it’ll be easy to grab for those occasions.

what fits inside the box

For storage, I filled mine with birthday candles (I have a few boxes so each family member gets their favorite color), a festive box of matches, and a ceramic candle holder (the goose!). There’s still room for extra candles and small birthday odds and ends. I love having everything in one place so I’m not scrambling through drawers when it’s time to sing “Happy Birthday.”

price breakdown

I don’t actually think I spent any money on this project! Because I had the fabric, embroidery floss, and stabilizer on hand. I bought the book box ages ago to use for a board game box. Though the book box is only about $9 at full price. If you’re a crafter, you’ll probably have most things on hand you need to make this. If not, here’s all the supplies linked-

And that’s how I made this Birthday Candles and Matches Box!

What started as a simple way to keep candles and matches organized ended up becoming something much more meaningful. I love that it’s practical, but also pretty enough to display and special enough to become part of our family’s birthday traditions.

Every time I pull it out, I’ll think about all the birthdays we’ve celebrated and the memories we’ve made together. My hope is that years from now it’ll still be sitting on a shelf somewhere, ready to help make another wish come true.

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