The Box Tutorial

This is much easier done in person, but we'll give this tutorial a try. Disclaimer: I used 

a card that was too thick so it was difficult to work with and therefore looks

 a little rough. But I didn't want to do this all over with a better one, so here we go. 

Above: supplies for project.  Click on any photo to enlarge.

You need a perfect square and since most cards are rectangular, you will need to make

 it a square. The easiest way for me to do this is to fold it over as you see and then 

cut along the sides of the triangle. You will see the message side of the card I folded a 

little smaller as the bottom of the box needs to be a bit smaller so the lid will fit on it. 

 As you get experienced, you may want to center your square over the design you want, 

but it's always fun to see what ends up being on the top of your box. Sometimes a sweet 

signature turns up on the bottom of the box !

Your two squares should look like the above.

With your ruler, draw straight lines-a big "X" from one corner 

to the other on the wrong side of the squares.

The folding is the key to the success of the card. It's a little difficult and must 

be precise.  Fold two sides into the center of the square as shown above. 

They should meet exactly at the center.

Fold again as shown above, lining up exactly along pencil line. 

After folding is finished, open card flat. 

Repeat with the other corners, as shown. Fold into center once, and then 

again to line up with pencil lines.  Open flat again. 

Your card should look like this. Now take up your scissors.

Cut along folds to the point of the center four squares as shown. Do this ONLY on 

two corners, not all four. (This is very easy, but maybe the hardest part to explain!) 

Start folding up the non-cut corners into a box.

Crisp your folds and hold your box together as you bring the cut 

corners together and tuck them in place. 

A small piece of tape can hold this together well. As you can see mine is not 

perfect as  it was difficult to fold precisely because of its thickness.  

Now start on the bottom of the box.

It's always fun to see what design ends up featured on the box top. These 

are fun for little pieces of jewelry, to hang on a tree, to stack in a little pile, to use as

 little favors at a tea party, or as a craft to teach young girls --- and so many other 

things you creative ones may come up with. I always look at cards

 I receive now and think if they would make good boxes or not! 

If you have questions don't hesitate to ask!

See this earlier post for a much prettier view of these boxes!