Bookending Winter: Box It Up!

Hello bookworms!! Welcome back to Bookending Winter, where today’s prompt is Box It Up!!

Before we get started, here’s today’s reminder to check out the fabulous hosts for Bookending events: Clo (@ Cuppa Clo) and Sam’s (@ Fictionally Sam) are seriously fantastic!!

If you want to check out some of the past 25 days of prompts (including yesterday’s), please click on this link: Link to blog-hopping masterlist. And if you want to sign up (it’s still not too late), you can check this link: Link to Bookending Winter sign-ups.

Bookending Winter: Box It Up!

I don’t know about you, but I always wanted to try and create my own book box. It feels like such a fun job sourcing all of the little bits and pieces that would go into it.

I love getting book boxes but I don’t always use what I get in them. As useful as totes bags are, I feel like I have about 200 of them!! But if I could create my own book box, these are some of the things I’d want to put in it.

Book sleeve and matching bookmark

I know I probably have about 20 already, but I LOVE book sleeves – and matching fabric bookmarks are the best!!

Fabric bookmarks are the best because it doesn’t matter if you sit on them or spill something – they don’t break or tear, and you can throw them in the washing machine!!

Book sleeves are the best if you’re traveling or want to take your book somewhere with you. They’re soft and protective and keep your book all snuggly and safe!!

My favourite ones in Australia are from Oh Sew Bookish and my favourite ones from the US are from Hide Your Spoons. Jess and Fer both do book sleeves and fabric bookmarks.

Candles or wax melts

Ok, so as much as I love candles, they are super hazardous for my cats (because my cats are DUMB). So when I want to burn candles, I usually have to cut the wax out of the tin or jar and put the wax in my electric wax melter. I think it is hood be great if when buying the box you can choose either a candle or wax melts.

My fave candle dealer in Australia is definitely Spark + Sparrow. I also really love Novelly Yours candles in the US.

Stationery

Hi, I’m addicted to paper and stationery. I LOVE post-it’s or washi tape with cute designs and I don’t think you can ever have too much. I’d be so happy with a cute notebook or a reading journal or mini review book or something.

Or maybe a pen, or some pencils or a brush pen in a matching colour to the cover of the book. Then over time you could collect a set of colours.

Pin

Ok, so I am absolutely addicted to enamel pins. I love them and I don’t know that there’s such a thing as “too many”. I don’t even keep them on pin hoops or banners. They just live in a box until I wear them.

So, I’d want to have one that matched the book, but not necessarily a quote. Just something from the cover or theme. So if it was Strange the Dreamer, I’d want a moth pin like the geometric style ones on the cover.

Fave pin designers are Kit Cronk Studio or Nerd Tea Creations in Australia.

Craft item

I love getting something small and crafty to make. Whether it’s a little wooden something to paint and put together or maybe something with wool, I feel like craft items are fun!

I’ve been gifted things like mini-blocks animals (it’s like super tint Lego), or a small cross stitch. I’ve also gotten little wooden or metal sheets with pop out pieces that make a small model of something. Basically anything little and creative would be super fun!!

Recurring comic strip

Ok, so this would be something fun and hopefully unique that I would want to try. I would want to work with an artist to make a short story or single volume comic. In each box I would send a small printed page or two.

But at the end in case people have skipped boxes or only gotten one some of the boxes, I would provide an email link to the whole comic online. So in the end, everyone would have access to the whole comic.

I think that would be fun for a recurring item in the box to link them all together.

A book!!

Of course a book box should have a book in it!! There’s so many great books that have just come out recently or are coming out soon that I would love to share. Or maybe even some of my old favourites – although that’s always risky as people might already have them!!

New books that either came out recently or are coming out soon that I’d love to feature include:

• Perfect on Paper – Sophie Gonzales (YA contemporary box)
• You Have a Match – Emma Lord (YA contemporary box)
• Crown of Bones – A. K. Wilder (YA fantasy box)
• Tales from the Hinterland – Melissa Albert (YA fantasy box)
• The World Between Blinks – Amie Kaufman and Ryan Graudin (MG fantasy box)
• Muse – Brittany Cavallaro (YA sci-fi box)
• Love Your Life – Sophie Kinsella (adult contemporary / romance box)
• Second First Impressions – Sally Thorne (adult contemporary / romance box)
• The Wife Upstairs – Rachel Hawkins (adult mystery/thriller box)

I hope you decide to share some of your bookish box ideas!! Please feel free to tag me in your Bookending Winter: Box It Up posts!!

What would you want to put in a book box?