A Tutorial: Teeny, Tiny Teleportation Devices

Through blogging, I've made a number of friends with whom I exchange emails on a regular basis.  We communicate back and forth about the day-to-dayness of our lives and about some of the larger issues which rest close to our hearts.  While I was working on my book, these friends were my cheering squad.  I knew that if I woke up fretting in the middle of the night, I could dash off an email and soon receive an answer full of encouragement from across the country or from across the globe.

We often, my long-distance friends and I, express the wish that, instead of communicating via internet, we could sit across a kitchen table from each other drinking cups of coffee or tea, knitting a bit and chatting.  Alas, this will not happen for us anytime soon, and so I have designed teeny, tiny teleportation devices as a way to bring my friends into my kitchen.

To create these devices, I started off by gathering the following supplies:

-- Three matchboxes per device, emptied of matches

-- Strips of decorative paper, 2 in. x 6 in. (or the correct
    measurements to fit around your stacked matchboxes)

-- Photos and other small, meaningful mementos

-- A pencil, ruler, scissors and glue

Step 1: Glue three match boxes together in a stack and allow to dry for a few minutes (note: they should be stacked evenly, otherwise the teleportation device will be a bit lopsided.)

Step 2: Glue a strip of paper around the stack of boxes (leaving the sliding drawer sections exposed.)

 

Step 3:  Break off small sections from a match stick and sand the ends smooth.

Step 4: Glue the bits of matchstick to the front of the drawers to create drawer-pulls (note: these drawer-pulls are not functional -- it's best to open each drawer by pushing from the back.)

Step 5:  Trim photos and other ephemera to fit inside the drawers.  I included photos of the  Golden Gate Bridge clipped from postcards, wrappings from coffee & tea, and a photo of my front door...

Step 6: Along with the teleportation device, I included the following letter (i.e. operating instructions) --

To my Dear Far-Away Friend,

In honor of all the times we've said in our emails how wonderful it would be to sit at a table, face to face, sipping cups of coffee or tea, I send you this teeny, tiny teleportation device.

We are separated by continents & oceans, but perhaps, via the assistance of magic glittering stars in the top drawer, images of the Golden Gate Bridge, the wild rocky northern California coast, and seashells in the second drawer, plus an image of my front door & wrappings from coffee and tea, you will somehow be transported to my table here with me.  If not in body, then surely in heart and spirit...

Thank you, my friend, for all the virtual cups of coffee we have shared.  I raise my cup to you!