Hi Friends,
Yes, you read that right, this post is all about making
boxes using the Gift Bag Punch Board! With the holidays coming up fast, I'm all about gift packaging. This project was developed in response to my need for packaging a uniquely shaped Christmas ornament, which I'll share in another post. After I realized what I could do with this tool, I went to town making boxes to share with my Thanksgiving hostess and her lovely family.
If you're a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, you'll recognize the embellishments from the September 2017 kit. The kit included pillow box gift packaging, but I used all of those previously and wanted to create something different with the kit materials I had left.
These boxes are a generous size - about 3" x 3-1/4" x 2" deep. They can hold a bunch of goodies! I filled mine with premium chocolates - Lindor Truffles and Ghiradelli Squares. This box can easily hold 6-8 of either with no problem. It would also be a lovely packaging option for jewelry, teabags, ornaments, and more. Follow along to see how I made them:
The main trick to making a box instead of a bag is do not use the triangle feature of the punch board. The triangle is used to make side gussets on a bag, which you won't need for this project. Begin with a piece of cardstock 11" x 5-1/2". I used Crumb Cake for my box.
The horizontal line can be added before, after, or as you punch and score each line. I tend to forget to do it as I'm punching and scoring, so I usually go back & add it afterwards. It ends up the same no matter how you get there!
My boxes have flaps on both ends - the bottom flaps are sealed and the top flaps are left open for access to the goodies inside. Simply turn the cardstock around, line up each of your previous scorelines with the pointer and punch again.
Here's what you'll have when you're finished punching and scoring. I used paper snips to trim the ends off the small tab on the left side. This is the tab that will hold your box together - be sure to use a strong adhesive like Fast Fuse or Tear & Tape.
In this step I added the decorative front panel before totally assembling the box. My front panel is made from 1/2 of a note card from my Paper Pumpkin kit cut to 3" x 2-3/4". I used the small leaf stamp from the kit to randomly stamp in Soft Suede.
Here we are with the sides and bottom flaps adhered together and ready to fill.
The top flaps are held closed with a belly band made from Cajun Craze cardstock. Wrap it loosely around the box and pinch the corners. I made a pencil mark where the band should overlap so it would not be too tight when I take it off the box and add Tear & Tape to fasten it.
The last step was to add the tag & leaves, which are stamped & assembled per the instructions in my PP kit and fastened to the belly band using Fast Fuse.
These boxes are fun and easy to make! You can easily make a taller box by cutting your cardstock wider than 5-1/2". Stay tuned - in my next post I'll show a taller box with a lid that I designed for Christmas.
Below are the supplies used on this project - anything not listed was included in the September 2017 Paper Pumpkin kit.
Product List
Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Blessings to all,
Pat
