I'm making a jewel box, too. It's one of my UFOs. I started it when my cousin-in-law's daughter was in utero. She's now six!
Each larger block is made up of sixteen smaller blocks. I make them one (smaller) block at a time, then put them together into a "larger" block. Then place them around until I get the blocks the way I want them. Here's what I've got so far: