Acetate Box Tutorial

Well I am home today trying to recover from a chest infection and feeling a bit better now that I have almost 3 days of anti-biotics getting to grips with it. I just wish I had the energy to actually get up and do something!

Since I can't craft I have decided to post a long overdue tutorial on my blog so somebody else can be inspired to craft instead.

I made the cutest little 4" 'bee happy' cards earlier this year. I have finally decided to part with them - I don't have this Sizzix die so I will miss these little bumble bees - how sad am I? Anyhow in order to present them as a cute 'gift set' I needed a box to put them in.

This is what I came up with. It's a perfect little box created from a single A4 sheet of acetate, quickly and easily that makes up to 4.5" - the perfect size for my project. If you make up several score them, trim them to size and store them flat in an A4 folder or pocket and you will have boxes ready to assemble whenever you need to give a gift of mini handmade cards (or anything else that fits inside them). I purchased a pack of 10 acetate sheets from a local stationery store which made buying the materials real easy.

It works just as well with cardstock but I love when you get a glimpse of what's inside! I used white cardstock for the purpose of showing you how it's made since you can see it much clearer. When you use acetate you will need to score the lines with a paper piercing tool as this gives the acetate a crisp fold and avoids ugly white lines.

Begin with the acetate horizontal in front of you. Measure and score at 1", then a further 4.5", then a further 1" and then 4.5". This should leave you with a 3/4" piece at the end. This is the piece that will get tucked inside to join the box together

Now turn the acetate so it is vertical in front of you and measure and score at 1", then a further 1", then a further 4.5", then a further 1" and you should again be left with a 3/4" piece at the end which will form the bottom end 'tuck in' flap.

This is what you should end up with. I hope you can see this image and the measurements clearly enough to work from.

Place the box horizontally in front of you and use the piercing tool to pierce a 'dot' in every section that needs to be cut away. I have indicated them on my cardstock with an 'X'.

This is essentially what you should end up with once they have all been cut away. It doesn't show on this pattern but you will need to cut down the side of the section marked 'top' just to the first score line to create 2 little side tuck in flaps and then repeat the same at the other end.

Fold on all score lines then open out acetate and smooth all score lines flat. This is to take some of the fold out so you can them re-assemble the box and get a nicer finish. If you are storing these boxes ready for use then don't fold on the score lines at this point just leave them flat and fold when you need them.

Glue the 3/4" length at one side to just inside the 1" length at the other side to form the main box body, i.e. the tab where it states 'glue here' on right of photo to just inside 1" strip on left of photo.

Pretty quickly you'll see that you tuck in the 2 smaller side flaps, fold over the top and tuck in the top flap. Then you repeat the same for the bottom using the 3/4" tuck in flap.

I stick a clear round sticker over the bottom to keep it tucked in but clear tape would work too.

I also use clear glue dots to stick the box together so the adhesive isn't so visable.

I added a decorative band around the box, tied some ribbon and added a sentiment to complete it.

I love recycling and this box can be easily opened, the contents taken out and the box filled back up again to re-use and give to someone else. Mini cards are one of my favourite kinda cards to make so this little project ticks all of my boxes!

Now I'm off to put my chest to rest with a pillow, a blanket, the couch and my favourite period drama - Pride & Predjudice - I am exhausted!

My Recipe Works

Well I've had ample chance to craft this weekend and to test my first card recipe to see how well it works.

These are the first creations using this recipe and I love everything about them from the different colour combinations to the scallops, dots, and decorative touches. They are so me!

I used one of my Papertrey stamp sets to create this flower block for the card. Since I didn't have the same vintage shade of red ink I inked up first in red and then in light brown to 'muddy' it up a bit and make it far less red. I managed to find a kind of 'teal' blue for the flowers that matched perfectly.

I used staples to add scraps of ribbon and stamped the text. To remove the starkness of the white cardstock I stamped all over my block and text strip with a 'straw' coloured ink pad which I often do if I don't have any cream cardstock to hand.

For the yellow card I reversed the recipe placing the decorative strip at the upper portion and the decorative panel on the lower portion. I decided to create more of these flower embellishments. I seem to be making loads of these just lately.

You create them from a scalloped circle punch by cutting away small wedges and then layering up a smaller punched flower over the centre. Finish with a button and you have a really cool hand made flower embellishment. I like to distress mine with some ink too.

I also use a scoring tool down the length of each petal to add a bit more definition and I hand cut leaves to complete the look.

I am soooooo hoping this creative 'spurt' continues for awhile. Guess maybe those iron pills are kicking in - have had a poorly chest for several weeks and felt tired so decided to try taking iron pills to regain some energy - should've done this weeks ago!

Inspiration Complete

Wow what a busy weekend it has been!

So far I have helped our eldest daughter hang wall paper in her boys room while her dad carpeted the stairs, done a whole bunch of crafting, done the laundry - twice (it had to be re-done because of the rain so it ended up being twice the job it should've been), blogged a whole bunch and created my first card recipe, spent several hours on my college coursework and I still have time to blog some more!

I finished my 12 x 12 frame that I was inspired to make when I started mixing up the lovely yellows and blues earlier this weekend.

This close up shot shows the stamped stitches I used and the handmade flower embellishments. I created a patchwork background and since I was in the mood for scalloped edges I threw in a few of them as well.


I knew I wanted to include a verse of scripture and added 1 Corinthians:13 about love remaining when everything else is gone.

I sooooooo want to show the entire frame but that would definately give the game away. I hope the person getting this for Christmas will be thrilled. I just love looking at it - such different colours to the ones I'm used to working with.

I will post a full view some time after Christmas I promise.