In the simplest sense, I want to build my girlfriend a jewelry box. In the not-so-simple sense, it’s going to be a jewelry box, with an LCD monitor displaying pictures of us together, and an OLED display with a random message and counter of our time together.

Putting it down on paper makes it easier to piece together the reality of this project, rather than keeping it in my mind, and working off a thought. The major key points for the jewelry box are

• Top door with LCD picture frame, and OLED with a message
  • LCD will display pre-loaded pictures of our time together
  • Message will contain day counter since we started dating
    • Annoying you for XXXX days
    • My source of happiness for XXXX days
• Three drawers, of varying size
  • Smallest will be for rings and stud earrings, maybe 1-1.5″ in height
  • Medium drawer with 2″ in height
  • Large drawer with 3-4″ in height
• Base to fit the electronics
  • Fitted, not too tight, for electronics and cables
  • Slits/grooves for the base board to slide out the electronics
• Sensor of some type to know when the top door is open
  • This should be the trigger for enabling the LCD/OLED in the top compartment

 

Having a general idea, I drew together what I wanted to build. It’s not to scale, and I think I’m going for a wide build, rather than tall. That can allow me to make for a shorter and spread base, too. This is my first drawing of the jewelry box I want to design:

 

During this writing, I came up with a new, updated design for the top compartment: open up to display an earring door hook. On the back, inner wall, I can add a mirror, and maybe some LEDs on the top, but design will determine that at a later date. The top will remain the same, and open upwards. The top door may be the method to unlocking the compartment. Additionally, I don’t know if I want to add to the top of the version 1 box design, or if I want to make it flat, directly on top of the top drawer. This is the follow-up design:

 

This idea is still in my head, and making its way onto paper. The drafts I drew up were merely an idea of possibility; can this be done how I’m picturing in my mind? Having put it on paper, it looks like it will be making its way to my girlfriend in time for Valentine’s Day (Tuesday, February 14, 2017). It’s going to take woodworking, that I hope to get done locally, and prototyping, which I love to do.

 

 

UPDATE: 2017-01-25

Looking at the design, it needs to be revised once again, as the concept for a wider-than-taller design will not work. Furthermore, with earrings about 5 inches in length, I’ll be building a taller-than-wider design, that needs its own space to hang earrings properly. I still want to have a mirror available, and I think I can still provide one, given this next design: