Studs in Pandora's hatbox

Today I began applying the studs to Pandora's Hatbox. The studs I'm using are gold-coloured split pins that I bought from a scrapbooking supplies store. I bought them in two sizes, 8mm for the braids and 4mm for the monogram.

I'd originally planned to punch the holes for the pins with an awl, but I found that the shape of the round hatbox made this too difficult to manage and so I switched to a hand-held electric drill with a fine (2mm) bit instead.

First I drilled the holes through the braids on the sides of the hatbox, starting about 6mm (a quarter of an inch) above the base and spacing them evenly up the braid. As you can see from the image above, I stopped below the point where the lid will reach.

The next step was to refer to my my visual journal. I copied the monogram that I had sketched in the journal onto a sheet of scrap paper and taped it onto the centre of the hatbox lid. Then I drilled the holes for the studs right through the paper and the leather-covered lid.

The easiest part is placing the studs; simply push the split pins through the holes and flatten the tabs at the back to hold them in place. For extra security, I turned the lid over and laid it stud-side down on a folded towel, then pressed the tabs even flatter by  tapping them with a tack hammer.