TARDIS Matchbox - mildly pic heavy

[jennieingram]

I recently was "strong armed" by the awesome Pinkleo into participating in the Matchbox Swap Round 4.  My partner spidermom is a big Doctor Who fan, and had lots of TARDIS themed items on her Wist.  Since they are both rectangular, I thought the TARDIS would be a great choice for the matchbox I was going to build her.   I used an online template from Swap Bot for the box itself.  (Though the PDF wouldn't really open for me.  I had to take a screen capture of it, and size it up.)

After coming up with the right sized box, I found blueprint images of the TARDIS online, and cut down the front and tweaked proportions till it fit the size of the box front.  Then just cut and pasted together in Photoshop.  I printed it, along with the manual cover on the only sheet of blue card stock I had.  Thank goodness it worked the first time!  The printed lines were all gone over with superfine Sharpie, and the upper windows were cut out and backed with vellum. The doorknob is a little metallic scrapbooking embellishment.

Matchbox, with all it's goodies packed inside:


When the tray is empty, you always have the Doctor to keep you company.


All the goodies unpacked, including a resin bottle cap pendant, AB beads, a bone bead, tiny TARDIS Instruction Manual, two keys to the TARDIS, a paper tag, pin back, clip, blue buttons and beads, blue acrylic drops, a copper and brass ring, stamp from China, evil eye bead for protection, star charms, hematite beads, hook clasp, an angel wing charm, 60's-esque teapot, leather "Travel" tag, s-hook clasp, and a cookie fortune.


Detail of the necklace.  I made a ton of these charms in the Steampunk Charm Swap, and have been meaning to make necklaces out of them ever since.  For those of you who are curious, I believe it's a Leinenkugel's Fireside Nutbrown Ale cap.


You can't be flying about time and space without any idea how to operate the crazy box, so I made a tiny TARDIS Instruction Manual


Inside of the Manual


Possibly my favorite find from my stash, the fortune:


I should probably note that when I came up with this idea, I had never seen an episode of Doctor Who before.  I chose most of my bits & bobs just by going for items that related to traveling, and the same shade of blue as the TARDIS.  Since I finished the box and mailed it a week ago, I started to get curious though.  In the last week I ended up finishing Series 1, and just started Series 2 this morning.  While David Tennant is adorable, and I'm sure will grow on me soon, I already really miss Chris Eccleston who I was nursing a bit of a crush on.

*Edit: I have since learned to love and adore David Tennant who will always be "My Doctor".

[spidermom]

AH!!! love it so much!!!!! <3
i'm also really loving that you've been lured into the show, its so much fun!
thanks again jennie, i just adore this tiny treasure

[RoaneFaery]

Very nice! I love the necklace and tiny instruction manual.

In the last week I ended up finishing Series 1, and just started Series 2 this morning.  While David Tennant is adorable, and I'm sure will grow on me soon, I already really miss Chris Eccleston who I was nursing a bit of a crush on.

A lot of us felt that way. And then fell way more in love with David Tennant. 

[nfirehazzard]

This is the most amazing thing! Its absolutely perfect! Way to go!

[Wulf]

Another Dr. Who fan is born! I was a bit dumbfounded that you'd never seen ANY of the series, but then Dr. Who has never really penetrated into American culture the way it did in Canada and the other countries that are more closely tied to Britain. People often identify themselves by which Doctor they grew up watching. (I was a Tom Baker kid.) 

You picked great stuff to put into the box, even without having seen the show yet! I love the idea of using the bottlecap as a necklace. I might take two of the ones you sent me with the Potholder Swap and make cufflinks out of them!

[jennieingram]

Another Dr. Who fan is born! I was a bit dumbfounded that you'd never seen ANY of the series, but then Dr. Who has never really penetrated into American culture the way it did in Canada and the other countries that are more closely tied to Britain. People often identify themselves by which Doctor they grew up watching. (I was a Tom Baker kid.) 

You picked great stuff to put into the box, even without having seen the show yet! I love the idea of using the bottlecap as a necklace. I might take two of the ones you sent me with the Potholder Swap and make cufflinks out of them!

Yeah, Dr. Who was never really big in the US.  I remember there occasionally being episodes from the 70's on PBS when I was a child, but that would have been around 86' or 87', and having grown up on American television BBC productions always looked a bit odd to us.  The sound quality always sounded like the actors were inside a tin can.  Not very appealing to a 7 year old girl.  And after all, there was Star Trek the Next Generation, with Jonathan Frakes and his killer beard.  (Plus how could I not be in love with Patrick Stewart?) 

Since the series has been back on, I've only lived in 1 place that I actually got BBC America.  For the year that we lived in New Hampshire it was part of basic cable, but not Illinois or Kentucky.  (I'm fairly sure BBC will never show up in KY, actually, though I wish it would.) 

And I never even thought of turning the charms into cufflinks.  That would be EPIC! Make sure to send me pictures if you do!!!

[hgddm]

Ahh! I love Eccleston too! This box is lovely.

[jennieingram]

Ahh! I love Eccleston too! This box is lovely.

Ok, I've watched 9 David Tennant episodes, and yeah, he's pretty cute.  But I still really miss Chris Eccleston!  (I'm not normally so sloth-like, but I go back to work on Monday, so I'm being pretty lazy this weekend..)

[pinkleo]

Oh my jennie, that Tardis Matchbox and its treats are fantastic!  I imagine Dr. Who wisters have been going nutty.  (Note to self: Watch more Dr. Who!)

[tynwia]

Oh my goodness!! I am totally wisting this. I wish I would have signed up for the swap and became your partner!
 And trust me you will get a crush on David Tenant also and then cry and say Matt Smith could never be the Doctor and yet he grows on you also. I am always excited to see a new fan. I was a Tom Baker kid thanks to my best friend (I had no television growing up) who taped the episodes and we would watch them on Saturdays. I converted my second oldest daughter, and my oldest friend who are now converting others