Easiest Box You'll Ever Make!

With Christmas approaching fast I am looking for ideas for my daughter to help the grandkids give gifts. Of course these will have to be handmade in order for her to stay well within her budget (almost nothing) so she plans to let the kids bake cookies and have a fun time doing it. That means she's going to need quick but pretty packaging for presenting them in. THAT'S where I come in - although I hope I get to help bake too.

This is MY version of an easy box which is all Christmassy in Cosmo Crickets papers in bright green and red. I don't know if I've ever met a family of papers I like more than these 'Jolly by Golly' designs!

Here is a bit of a close up shot so hopefully you can see some of the detailing I used.

I just love using brown ink with these papers so I stamped a line of stitches around the top panel. I think this comes from a PTI set. It's permanently out ready to use so I can't recall the name of the set but I'm pretty sure it's PTI. I also used my distressing tool before inking the edges and I inked the edges of the box as well. I used a cardboard colour base which sets the red and green papers off nicely. I have added those fab holly leaves stamped with WM stamps and added red ribbon that I picked up in Tesco's of all places. It was in the Christmas wrap section on a card with a matching bow.

Here you can see the lid lifted off the base. Now I KNOW making boxes isn't exactly 'rocket science' but there is an easy way to make a box either from a square or rectangle without making lots of 'bitty' measurements so I've decided to SHARE. I promise - this will be one of the easiest boxes you'll ever make (minus the decoration of course). Just to show you can still create something nice with much less effort here is the one I created for Vicky and the kids to make.

This is the bow I was tellin you about and there was enough ribbon on the card for two boxes. I think it was about a pound but I can't remember. I pick these things up whenever I see them. Vicky's box uses pre-printed card stock, a simple bit of ribbon and a bow plus a simple tag using a WM stamp.

OK so here's how easy it is to make. Take two pieces of card the same size. For my box I used two A4 sheets cos it was easier and it makes up to a 7 3/4" x 4 1/4" by 2" deep box - perfect for filling with cookies. Whatever size you choose to use you only need to decide the depth of your box. That being said, the larger the depth the smaller the finished box will be so just try to keep it proportionate.

Step 1 - take just ONE piece of cardstock and trim away 1/4" (or a little less for thinner card) from one long edge and one short edge. If using square card stock then two adjoining edges is the same principal. THAT's ALL the adjustments you need make! Let me explain more....

Score both pieces of card stock on all four sides with your desired depth measurement. For my box I chose 2" so I scored 2" in on each side. NOW the trimmed piece of cardstock is the base and the untrimmed card stock the lid. It's as easy as that!

For the base I cut up to the first score line on the LONG edge so the flaps tuck in and secure on the long side of the base. This will most likely be lined with paper so it doesn't matter too much anyways.

For the lid I cut up to the first score line on the short ends so the flaps tuck in at the end. This distributes the 'bulk' evenly on the box as well reinforcing lid and base in two different places making it much sturdier when closed - hey - maybe there is a bit of science in there somewhere?

It also allows you to cut a semi-circle 'notch' out of the long sides to make lifting the lid off easier and besides it looks much neater this way around - you don't really notice the flaps inside the ends of the box so readily.

OK so that's basically it except that I decorated mine. Unfortunately you can't avoid a lot of measuring if you do this but this CAN be avoided if you use a patterned or pretty textured cardstock and 'pretty' it up with ribbon and embellishments.

Whenever you're ready simply add tape on all four flaps (this is the lid), peel backing and secure in place. TIP: you can trim flaps at the slightest angle before securing to make a neater box and avoid uneven edges.

Then you bring in the flaps and secure in place.

I inked the edges of all my paper before sticking it down but then once my box was complete I inked the edges of the box as well.

I think maybe I'll try a square one next. I am supposed to be making some card sets and they would look so pretty in a decorated box. I had actually planned to finish off some sewing projects today so I think that's enough crafting for now. Hope this tutorial makes sense. Enjoy!