Box - a tutorial

Hi,

I thought I would share with you this awesome way of making boxes yourself. I learnt it at a jewelry camp two years ago from a lady called Tua Holmberg. Thank you Tua! She also runs a webshop for beads and findings. Tuas Parlor. All in Swedish though.

Tools needed:

Scissors, a pencil, a ruler, a weatherstrip tool (if you don't have one, use something similar, hard but not sharp, like a buttering knife for instance).

Time required: Once you know the process, a box with bottom and lid will take you around 5 minutes to make. I promise, it is supereasy!

TIP:

When you learn don't start with your nicest paper. Make one or more test boxes with a simple paper first. And Tua tipped us about using sell-out nicely patterned wallpaper for a budget version once you start on the real boxes. Great tip!

1. Start with 2 paper squares of a rather thick paper. One will become the bottom part of the box, the other the top part. The ones I chose are size 30,5cm/12 inches), which will create a fairly large box.

2. and 3. Mark the center point by using the diagonals of the square. Don't worry about the lines looking ugly. The side where you put this mark will eventually become totally covered, so the mark won't be seen in the end.

4. and 5. Fold over the corners so they meet the marked center point. Be thorough and careful as you are folding to make sure the corners meet as exactly as possible, and each fold will look nice. My way is to start by gently folding the whole corner without fully creasing it. Then I start at the center and go back and forth and outwards to slowly fold more and more until the edge becomes sharp. I then go over it again with my nail or a weatherstrip tool. It is not necessary to use a a weatherstrip tool to mark the folding line for this stage, since the important thing is to meet the marked center point.

6. Meassure a suitable size for what will become the edge/hight of the box. I chose 30 mm for this one. Draw with a weatherstrip tool as you would do with a pencil. This is to mark the folding line, and actually greatly simplify the folding that will be the next step.

TIP:

See that ruler I have. With measures going across also. I love that ruler. I have had it for many years and it is so useful. It is so easy to just place all the "cross-meassures" at the same notch and voilá, you have a perfect and straight strip. And since it is plastic it is absolutely forbidden to use with a knife or scalpel, you don't want to risk to ever create the slightest little mark on the edge. I of course use a steel ruler when I cut paper or card.

7. Now fold all the four sides/edges.

8. Unfold the paper

9. and 10. Cut a slit in all four sides as shown in image 9. They should sit pairwise opposite each other. Look at the pictures and I hope you understand what I mean.

11. Fold like in the picture.

12. And then fold the last side. The construction shall be self locking, but it might be necessary to put a little strip of double side tape to secure it. See fig 14.

13. Now the first box is done! This will become the bottom.

14. Repeat all the steps for the top box. Make sure the strip in step 6 for the edge is 1-3 mm less wide than on the bottom box. Exactly how much depends on the thickness of the paper and the size of the box. This so the top will fit nicely over the bottom. Mine turned out so perfect, it actually creates a wonderful almost sucking noise of a perfect fit.

15. The two boxes are ready!

16. and 17. To create a cushion for the jewelry piece I like to use tissue paper. I start by making it all creasy by making a ball out of it. Then I fold it to the size required.

18. Place the jewelry piece in the box and cover it with another layer of creased tissue paper. As you can see the box I made should be for a larger piece, especially if it would be sent by mail. You would want a tighter fit for that.

All my best,

Malin