Sunday, December 30, 2018

December 30 -- Making little boxes out of used Christmas cards


Here is one more project using cards.  These are fun!

Most people have probably seen those little boxes made from Christmas cards. These are the easiest directions I have ever found. Most of the instructions I've seen involve a lot of folding and drawing of complicated lines, etc. These are actually easy!
The boxes can obviously be made from any greeting card, not just Christmas ones. These make great little gift boxes or can be used to hold office or craft supplies like paper clips, tacks, push pins, beads, etc. Christmas ones can be hung on the tree or piled beneath a miniature tree, where they look adorable.  One creative person used them to decorate a wreath, as I saw in an old magazine (photo below), but obviously this would need to be an indoor wreath to protect the boxes from dampness.
As you look over your stash of old cards, it will quickly become clear to you that not every card will work for this.  It needs to be either an allover design or perhaps something floral, like the poinsettia and mistletoe cards I chose.  (If you don't have any suitable cards and want to try this anyway, then simply use any cards you like and then wrap the finished boxes in wrapping paper.)
Here's what you do:

1. Cut apart a greeting card along the fold, separating the front from the back.
2. Start with the back part of the card. Using a ruler, draw lines from corner to corner on the unprinted side of the card to form an X. The center is where the two lines of the X meet.
3. Fold up each of the four sides of the card to meet the center of the X. Crease the folds well.
4. Open the card back up to reveal the creases you've made. Now, holding the card vertically, carefully cut on the two vertical crease lines at the top and bottom of the card, just to the point where they intersect with the nearest horizontal crease.
5. Fold in the tabs you just created by following step 4. You can now see how this is going to form a box. Tape the tabs inside the box. (You may find that each end of the box -- the part between the tabs -- stands up a bit higher than the rest of the box. If this happens, it is not a problem. You can simply fold the excess down inside, over the tabs, and tape it in place. Or, if you prefer, you can simply trim off the excess card before taping.) You have just made the bottom of the box!
6. Now, repeat steps 2 through 5 with the front part of the card, which will make the top of your box.
7. Obviously, this produces a box top and bottom which are exactly the same size, which sometimes means that the cover doesn't go on too easily. Usually, if you just squeeze the sides of the box gently, the cover will go on just fine.
These directions look far more complicated than the process actually is. I've made loads of these boxes with kids over the years, and it really is easy enough for even a 5-year-old to do with some guidance and maybe a bit of help with the creasing. So have fun with these cute little boxes!
 

10 comments:

  1. Oh I’d have to see that to make sense of it. 😉 Sounds cute, though. I might do it if the little gift boxes for gift cards weren’t so cute and inexpensive. Time is of the essence in November and December. Do you make a lot of these?

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    1. I haven't made a lot of them myself, Vee, but I've done this project with kids many times and they always enjoy it. There are lots of things you can do with them. I do agree that the gift card boxes these days are so adorable and inexpensive that it doesn't make sense not to use them. Especially if you buy them after Christmas for the next year!

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  2. Anonymous6:39 PM

    Mrs T, we have made these boxes before but I've since forgotten how. Thank you for the tutorial and refreshing my memory!

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    1. You're welcome, Gina! Someone showed me this project years ago but their directions were too complicated. I like this one because it is so easy!

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  3. Thanks for sharing these instructions! I have saved them for future use. Happy New Year!

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    1. Have fun with this idea, Barbara! Happy New Year to you as well!

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  4. My mom used to make boxes from greeting cards. Thanks for the memories and the instructions!

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    1. I'm glad the post brought back sweet memories for you, Terri!

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  5. These are such pretty little boxes. They would be fun to make with the grandchildren.

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    1. Yes, this is a wonderful project to do with children!

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