Decorative Matchbox Covers – Part Three: My Handmade Gifts for Friends

This weeks gift is both the quickest and simplest of all my ideas in our current mini series My Handmade Gifts for Friends. It’s creative simplicity makes it the perfect thoughtful yet speedy gift to offer your hostess when you find yourself stuck for ideas and are time limited.  Perfect for accompanying your food and drink offerings at the many festive parties we all enjoy at this time of year or maybe to take with you to a friends supper soiree teamed with a festive smelling candle or two. Today we are creating decorative matchbox covers to brighten up the dull offerings on our supermarket shelves. And I have a number of ways you might like to decorate yours…

First establish the design for your decorative matchbox covers. I wanted tactile fabrics, coziness in the hand that sort of feel. Mainly I wanted to use vibrant and strong colourful materials although not typically the traditional reds and greens associated with Christmas. If you read last weeks post you’ll have learned I am not a tinsel and glitter lover. Today you shall read I am not a traditional red-and-green-of-Christmas lover either. Do you think me quite odd? No matter, I probably am a little. These traditional Christmas colours are for me acceptable in small doses and preferably in their natural form. The green of a tree, a few fallen leaves and maybe a sprig of holly or two. And sometimes a poinsettia in the home – although not usually since I manage to kill most house plants even during the season of goodwill. I used both vibrant and earthy fabrics, ideal for these pretty matchboxes.

Many of these colourful fabric swatches are from my interior design student days and I often wondered what I would turn that sumptuous velvet and shiny silk into. Finally their moment had arrived.

Choose small adornments wisely. I had great fun using the contents of my craft cupboard. I can safely state the inside of this cupboard is another one of my happy places. Second only to Belle of course. Beads, small jingle bells, braids, ribbons, trinkets, anything goes. Lay your choices on and around your boxes until you have a design you are in love with.

The process for decorative matchbox covers could not be more simple. Measure your matchbox and cut the fabric accordingly. I used my pinking shears again to help avoid unnecessary fraying. I’m sure fabric on pretty matchboxes is not the safest combination in the world, so probably best not to have too much of an overhang around the striking strip. Apply craft glue to both sides and the non striking strip edge of the matchbox and fix the fabric in place. Then stick and if necessary apply a few stitches to fix your pretties firmly in place. Very soon you will end up with something akin to these.

Again in the interest of safety, dangly bits are probably best avoided for these pretty matchboxes although I did add one to the spine of this brightly coloured box. This shall be gifted to a sensible adult friend.

I enjoyed using primitive earthy browns and particularly favoured the soft feel to the fabric I chose with a splash of duck egg blue. I added a simple strand of ribbon and glued a button and bow firmly in place and called it good. Teamed with these bargain-buy tea light holders, we have the makings of an individual gift.

Of course it will come as no surprise you, my favourite decorative matchboxes to make are those with the understated and quieter fabrics. The cream french linen and homemade pink ribbon (created using this natural dye method) in particular. And having the opportunity to clank about on my old typewriter again to produce a seasonal message or two made me smile. A perfect hostess gift when teamed up with a bundle of stubby candles.

I also like to gift plain tealights in a clear bag with a few drops of essential oils added to a little treasure hidden inside. The tiny pine cones in this one have been treated to a few drops of vetiver and pine essential oil; evocative earthy smells which cannot fail to conjour up nostalgic Christmas’ once opened. Perfectly paired with this darker decorative matchbox and tied up with a pretty hand written label from the lovely @paintedolive and here is another beautiful and unique gift.

Perhaps you will gift your decorative matchboxes just as I have shown in this weeks post. Or maybe you could take the linen heart from this post and tie that around loose candles with a pretty matchbox of your choosing. You might seal your clear bag with an avocado dyed ribbon. Maybe you will choose to gift one of these with a fabric covered matchbox. A personal favourite gift of mine to give a special hostess at this time of year, is this simple firestarter pack with a pretty covered matchbox too. You can read here how to make these wonderful firestarters. I have yet to give this gift to any friend without receiving in return a joyous ooh or ahh which of course makes the whole time spent creating worthwhile.

My hope is for endless possibilities with these decorative matchbox covers. You could spend a happy morning with children cutting and sticking a unique and colourful design. Or a simple quiet afternoon listening to carols on the radio whilst working your own special creative magic. Choose from earthy greys and snowy whites to full on festive reds and greens covered with sprigs of holly and misletoe, let there be no limits.

Whatever you choose I would love to see. Do share your decorative matchbox covers if you can. In the interest of honesty however I feel it only fair to write, I am not entirely sure any of these pretty matchboxes will make it to friends homes this year. I am rather pleased with them all and I do like a decorative matchbox in every room you find candles. And we have quite a few rooms like that in our home. I wish you a wonderful and creative week, whatever you are making x