During our first four years together, Andrew and I would collect a rock or shell (or something like that) from each of our trips. After the first 3 or 4, I started creating what became known as the Rock Box for each of them.

The idea was each box would be a scientific display of a sample - as if we'd embarked on expeditions. On the left was the number of the rock, where it was collected, and on what date. On the right was a short narrative (usually a little goofy) about the trip or the place where we collected the rock.

I used acrylic box frames so I could construct an inset display area for the specimen. It was a craft project, science project, and architectural project all rolled into one. I had so much fun building these. I think I got up to #19 before we had our last big move.

It wasn't their first move, but it was their fatal move. UPS must be awfully hard on boxes, because every single one of the rock boxes were scratched from rubbing against each other. They were so scratched up that you couldn't see through the acrylic anymore. I saved all the paper inserts, so if I ever wanted to, I could re-construct them.

The other cool project I did with acrylic box frames involved origami paper and fortunes from fortune cookies. Sorry for the terrible scan, this project was pre-digital camera. I tucked a square of paper into a frame and layered a fortune over it. Super simple. I picked good fortunes, of course, and hung these brightly colored inspirations in my bathroom. Japanese paper and Chinese fortunes aren't necessarily congruous, but hey, they looked nice together.