Tutorial - how to make a box for your dimensional cards.

Tutorial - how to make a box for your dimensional cards

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

This tutorial will give the measurements and formula for making a box for a 6x6inch square card.  HOWEVER....the formula I use to make this card is easily converted into other sized cards like 5x5, 8x8 etc.

For a 6x6 card you will need:

2 x A4 sheets of cardstock, white or patterned whichever you want for your box.

Hougie board, Scor Board, Martha Stewart Score board or whatever other score board you have that is on the market*  Not essential though.....if you have an embossing tool & ruler, that works too

Glue or extra strong double sided tape

Bone folder - not essential

Scissors

Ruler

MAKING YOUR BOX - THE FORMULA I USE AND THE PUTTING TOGETHER OF YOUR BOX

BOX BASE

If your card is 6x6 inches you wont want your box to be exactly 6x6 as the card wont fit in, it will simply sit on top and this is NOT what we want.   So, I usually add on 1/4 inch which gives room for the card and embellishments.  Therefore you will want the card base to be:      

6" 1/4 inches x 6" 1/4inches.  DO NOT CUT YOUR CARDSTOCK YET!!

This is just the measurement for the part the card actually sits on, you need sides to your base so don't cut anything yet, your box still needs sides.

Now depending on how heavily your card is embellished you need to think about the height of the box or how thick the box needs to be and add this onto the size of your card base. You obviously need it to be thick enough to fit the lid on and not squash flowers or embellishments you have on your card.  For the purposes of this tutorial I've decided to make my box 1/4 inch thick.

 But obviously you can add on whatever height you think you need.

 There are 4 sides to your card, which means you need to add 1/4" to all 4 sides of the card.  To make the maths easier, a 1/4" onto the 4 sides of the card is 1/4" x 4 = 1 inch total to add to your base measurement. You therefore need to add this 1" amount onto of your cardstock base measurement to make all 4 sides 1/4 inch high.  The amount of cardstock you will need in total is:

6 1/4" (represents card base on all sides) + 1 inch (1/4 height x 4 sides) This gives you the 1/4 inch height of box sides all the way round) which equals =

Sum again without words!!  6 1/4 "+ 1" = 7 1/4"

So you need a piece of cardstock measuring 7 1/4 "x 7 1/4" for your base of your box.  So go ahead and cut the base piece of cardstock and leave aside for now.

NOW FOR THE LID

Now, obviously the lid has to be that fraction of a bit bigger than the base so that it can fit over the base.  I have calculated for a nice and secure fit, you only need to add 1/16th of an inch on all 4 sides of your cardstock to give a secure fitted lid.  So to make your lid we will take the measurement we had from the base, and add the extra 1/16th of an inch to all 4 sides so the lid to fit.

So your base measurements were 7 1/4 " by 7 1/4".  But to add 1/16th of an inch onto the base size, we again need to multiply that figure by 4 to represent 1/16th of an inch of space on all 4 sides of the lid so it can be that little bit bigger.

So - 1/16th of an inch x 4 (sides of lid) = 1/4 inch

So if your base size is 7 1/4" by 7 1/4" you will need to add on your extra 1/4 inch needed for the lids 4 sides.

7 1/4" by 7 1/4" + 1/4 inch = 7 1/2 " x 7 1/2"

So.........your lid cardstock will measure 7 1/2 " x 7 1/2"

NOW THE HORRIBLE MATHS IS DONE....LETS MAKE THE BOX

This formula can be used for any card size.  You just have to remember that you need to add on your box's height to all 4 sides of your cardstock.  And when making the lid, add on the little smidgen extra for the lids size on all 4 sides.

Right, so you have cut your 2 bits of card, one at 7 1/4" by 7 1/4" representing your card base and your lid cut at 7 1/2 " by 7 1/2"

So take your base piece of cardstock to your hougie board (or use a ruler and embossing tool.  Now remember we added 1/4 inch on for the depth of the box?  So, score each piece of carstock at 1/4 inch on all 4 sides of each piece. Then take your base piece of cardstock (the larger piece) and score it at 1/4" also on all 4 sides.  Don't worry, this scoring will work out fine as your lid is larger than the base.  (my Hougie board doesn't have 1/4" marks, so I actually made my height of my box at 1/2 inch....sorry if this confuses you)

Once you have all sides scored on each piece of cardstock, you will notice at each corner there is a little square.  You need to cut one of the lines down to the end of the little square.  It doesn't matter if you cut at the side or bottom, but for a sleek look cut all 4 slits in the same direction, choosing either the side or bottom line to cut.

So you are now left with these little tabs on all 4 corners of each bit of cardstock.  Fold them in towards the inside and using a bone folder or just your fingers, fold all the rest of the folds inwards, see below.

Make sure your little tabs are on the inside.  Now glue or strong DST time!!

 Place your glue or the strong DST to the small tab back so it butts up against the back of the box wall.  Line it up so you have a clean level box seam.

Once you have done this to all 4 sides of each bit of cardstock you now have a box base and lid that holds a 6x6inches card.

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