Wedding Gift Idea Help

[Gene E Miller]

Greetings & Salutations,

I have been away from the Creek for a while and
also have not had much opportunity to do any
work in the shop.

However my youngest Nephew is getting married
in December and since I did a project for his
brother when he got married several years
ago I need to be fair. :)

I am thinking of something that will be personalize
for him and his wife but also not to large that I will
have to transport in my pickup since they live
1200 miles away.

My first thought would be a his and hers jewelery
box but I have also considered a nice end grain
butcher block type cutting board that I would have
a very nice design with a receipe box with dovetailed
sides.

They both like to cook.

I would appreciate any other suggestions that
would allow me to make something that would
be very nice to have and also that I could transport
with me in my car. LOL.

Thank you for any suggestions.

Gene Miller

[Jamie Buxton]

You can easily transport small pieces of furniture in a car if you think ahead. For instance, a bedside table or a coffee table can go in a car. Design the piece to be knock-down. It doesn't have to look like an Ikea design. It just needs to assemble like an Ikea piece. For instance, you could make a small table held together with tusk tenons.

[Matt Day]

You mentioned they like to cook, so an obvious idea would be cutting boards. I've made a bunch of them and given them as gifts and everyone still has them and uses them all the time.

If you have a lathe, salt and pepper shakers might be another thing to try, or maybe just a nice bowl.

Edit: just reread your post and saw that you already thought of cutting boards! They are always a winner if you ask me.

[Danny Thompson]

This may be more work than you had in mind, but the rolling kitchen/patio cart from this week's episode of The WoodSmith Shop would be pretty useful for a new couple. You could prebuild everything, then assemble the legs on-site, as they are attached with hanger bolts/barrel nuts, and the top is connected with clips. It could even serve as an island. Lots of useful add-ons (serving tray, cutting board). Free plans online. Google "Woodsmithshop Patio Serving Cart".

[Mike Cozad]

Jewelry box for her and a valet box for him made from the same wood.. My dad and step mother loved them... I built them in the days before cell phone so today I would incorporate a charger or two for personal electronics...

256608

[Danny Thompson]

Custom picture frame for the wedding photo.

[Carl Beckett]

I like picture frames as gifts

Maybe his and her nightstands

[Joe A Faulkner]

Gene, if you've made end grain cutting boards in the past, then please disregard this. If this is your first one, I'll share that I made one out of maple and walnut. Unfortunately the maple had mineral streaks and once the butcher block oil (mineral oil) was added to the board, while the pattern looked nice, the mineral streaks in the end grain of the maple looked terrible. My guess is if you have some premium, "white" hard maple you can get a nice contrast with the walnut, and the end grain won't dull up like mine did.

I've made some light duty cutting boards for wedding gifts incorporating a random butcher block pattern. The boards are a fun build and turned out nice, but they were all face grain boards. If time and materials permit, you might consider one of these as complimentary board to the end-grain, serious cutting board. Some pictures are here:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?192619-Light-Duty-Cutting-Boards

[Jim Andrew]

I built a chest of drawers when my nephew had his latest son, and didn't want to transport it, so just told my sis I had it, and she picked it up and took it to him. Do you have other family close by?

[Lee Schierer]

How about a nice chiming wall clock for their kitchen. Here's one I made for a close friends wedding.256649

[Gene E Miller]

Greetings & Salutations,

Thank you all for the suggestions.

I have made some cutting boards in the past and
I was giving that one a strong consideration and one
of my ideas was to try to design a pattern that would
have their last name initial in contrasting wood
I have also considered the matching jewelry and valet box.

The clock is also a good idea.

The reason I wanted to have something on the smaller
side is that the wedding is going to be in Florida and I
live in Arkansas so it is a 1200 mile trip and I did not
want to have to drive my pickup that far since I have
a new prius that is getting 49 miles to the gallon. LOL

I have some time to do some thinking and research
and again I appreciate all the suggestions.

Gene

PS: If anyone would have a plan for an end grain CB and
would know how to put in a letter as a design I am very
much open to hearing about it.

[John C Bush]

Back in the day--- his and hers spanking paddles--- but a couple of large bowls for serving or tchotchkes display are always a great gift.

[Mel Fulks]

Google DUMB WAITERS and look at all the pictures. An airily designed dumb waiter with castors makes a great thing to keep bride with groom during meals .Quite elegant.

[Roger Feeley]

My daughter was recently engaged. He popped the question at a restaurant and there was all the clapping and crying. The manager was a friend and brought out a bottle of champagne. On the way out, I grabbed the empty bottle. At the time, I had no idea what I might do with it but I figured it would be best not to miss the opportunity. So what to do...

I bought a couple of nice champagne flutes.
I will have the bottle engraved with their names and the date of the engagement.
I made a nice walnut presentation box for the bottle and flutes.
At the wedding, I will use the bottle as a decanter and serve up the wedding toasts. Then I will have the bottle engraved again.

The idea is that the bottle becomes a part of important events such as the birth of a child. Each time, the bottle is engraved with the event and date.

That's my idea anyway.