Hey, pandas! My name is Dovas, and I’m the editor at Bored Panda. I’d like to tell you the story of how I made an engagement ring to propose to Elena, the love of my life!

I wanted to do something truly special – and something that would provide us with a story to tell to our children and grandchildren. Because I like to sculpt wood and clay, I decided to, in one way or another, create a ring of my own design. Eventually, I found a jeweler who agreed to take anything I’d make out of wax and cast it in gold! Read on to see the ring and how I made it (and how I kept it a secret from her).

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Here’s the piece of wax that I started with:

I kept my tools in a box that I could pack and hide quickly if she came home

We both love the outdoors, so I knew it’d have a nature theme

I’ve never made something so small, so I worked slowly – it took me more than 40 hours!

I had to work with a magnifying glass to see what I was doing

I used a camera lens blower to remove dust and scraps of wax

All finished – time to bring it to the jeweler’s

After casting it in gold and adding a green tourmaline gemstone… It looked like this! Success!

The stone has a deep evergreen color, but burns with a brilliant forest-green when it catches the light

Now for the box… after all, presentation is key

I’ll paint the panels and then add a second layer of wood over them

For my first time painting since elementary school, I don’t think I did too bad!

I covered the inside with paper that I marbled with green, blue, yellow and purple watercolors

I invited Elena out for a walk in the woods near our apartment…

Luckily for me, she said yes!

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