Midweek Blog#132 - Continuing with gift giving - creating your own gift boxes

Hello & welcome to my blog,

My name is Alison & I am an independent Stampin' Up® demonstrator in Melbourne, Australia. I love creating cards & gifts for my loved ones & this blog will show you how to create something special for those you love. I blog twice a week, once on a Sunday where I mainly showcase a stamp set or dies & sometimes special DSP. My second blog is mid week on a Wednesday where I look at techniques, colour challenges, card sketches, fun folds, tools & equipment & ways to make or improve your projects. That's what this blog is about.

In last week's mid week blog I shared how to create gift bags, ready for Christmas or any other gifting time. This week I have a simple gift box design to share which is another useful item to keep on hand for when you need to wrap & go in a hurry.

This design uses 2 sheets of cardstock, 1 measures 10" x 8", the other measures 10 1/8" x 6 1/8". For today's example I used Misty Moonlight cardstock for the base & Country Lace DSP for the lid.

Starting with the base of the box & the 10" x 8" piece, score at 2" on all sides & burnish.  The following picture shows the score lines & burnishing.

On long sides, cut up to the score line. Trim diagonally from cut lines to outside edges.

Fold the small pieces in & adhere to the longer pieces. This will form the box shape of the base.

For the top or lid of the box, score at 1" on all four sides & burnish. Repeat the cutting as for the base, up to the score line & cut in.

Glue as per the base, this has been highlighted in the picture above. This will now give you a lid to the box. Now all you need to do is put the two together.

AND THAT'S IT! Simple right? 

Now that you have the basics for making boxes, you can decorate the lid, add embellishments, bling, ribbon, whatever you need to make the perfect gift box. This size box is also perfect for placing hand made cards in for gifting. 

If you decide to create a box but need a different size then have a play around with creating smaller or larger boxes. Allow 2" larger on each side for the base than the item you want to put in the box. This is the size of the sides of the box. The lid should be the same finished width & length with 1" for the sides plus the 1/8" extra to allow it to sit on the base comfortably.

Well, that's it for another midweek blog. I hope you enjoyed learning how to make gift boxes, there will be more posts before the end of the year with different sized bags.

My next blog is on Sunday & features the second set of Christmas cards made with a Stampin' Up® sketch. I like to get in early with preparations for Christmas & sharing them in September and October allows you to start thinking about what you would like to make & get your supplies ready.

Next week's midweek blog is a funfold with a three point design.

I hope you can join me for both of them.

Til next time, take care & keep creating. XX Alison