GlitterBug Gift Boxes

About Icadel

Hello my name is Icadel and I love to make gift boxes pretty. I have been privileged to make keepsake boxes on many occasions for many themes, such as birthdays and celebrating a newborns arrival. For jewellery, and producing Bespoke boxes for individuals who have lost their loved ones, to couples celebrating their Wedding Day. I work from home and try to source all my materials from the UK.

I'm always looking out for inspiration which can come from anywhere, weddings, daydreaming, vision boards, conversations, trends, my 6yr old daughter, feedback from box parties, customer suggestions and Ah-ha! moments ; )

The first gift box I decorated came out of the need to send a product that I had created to a friend. I knew that the package it was sent in would add value to the gift and so the presentation was very important to me. I went out on the high st that afternoon in search of a gift box and to my surprise found nothing appealing, in fact it was really difficult to find more than 3 types of boxes and all were of low quality, bland in appearance or just plain tacky looking. I popped into every shop I could think of and each shop assistant I spoke to explained that boxes were only available at Christmas and on Valentines Day! Well I thought to myself what about all the other occasions in the calender year. After finally visiting one of my favourite stores; Paperchase I was inspired to create my own gift box after seeing sheets of cream coloured art paper which had stripes of gold glitter neatly lined in rows. That was my Ah-ha moment, and after buying a gorgeous fuschia shade of glitter I soon figured out how to apply the glitter to all four sides of a silver pearlescent box. I subsequently called this effect candy-stripes. Later that evening I edged the lid of the box with the same fruity shade of glitter and applied my friends nick name in the center of the lid in an italic style with two uneven strokes that made a kiss, this box gave birth to the Signature Range and shortly after GlitterBug was formed.

By the way my friend never did receive that particular box... instead I made her a replica box and still hold onto my lucky box!

As you can imagine I went on to spend hours weeks months and a few years discovering what I could actually do with a box and becoming more familiar with the materials I use. Once I was confident with the level of detail I could accomplish and explored my range, I then began to look at the inside of the box, I learned how to line the boxes with silk and wadding, then looked at different in-lines, and now offer black suede cushioned based boxes with a black lining on all four sides, and ring boxes in a black velour finish. I also applied the black velour to the inside of the lids. And customers have requested personalized messages on the inside lid, this is applied in either gold or silver ink.

The materials I use to decorate my boxes are flat backed Swarovski crystals, polyester glitter, and luxury ribbons, currently playing around with gold leaf, and open to using anything else which compliments the design.

Its wonderful to see and hear the value my work brings to people whether bought for themselves or as a gift for someone special.

I'm finally at a place where I feel comfortable to sell my work online to the general public and share what I love to do. I always say that each box tells a story.