A Custom Cradle

I slipped back through the screen door runner with that wooden finial tucked securely under my arm. Ducking behind the blue atlas, I immediately faced a geometric puzzle: both the matchbox and the mint tin are at absolute capacity, and this carved bell shape is much too round to squeeze into flat felt. Forcing it would just dent the wood. Looking around the alcove floor, I found an empty, heavy cardstock matchbook cover. I bent its thick flap backward into a V-shaped trough, wedged it between the atlas spine and the baseboard, and rested the finial right in the groove. It cradles the turned wood perfectly without rolling an inch.