Short on Ideas: Box Card Tutorial

I'm excited today to share with you step-by-step instructions for making a Box Card using Heartfelt Creations Delicate Asters Paper Collection. Thank you, Heartfelt Creations for inviting me to share my projects with your fans!

Here is my card - open and closed flat for mailing.

Here are step-by-step instructions for making this card.

Supplies I USED
Cardstock
	Purple/Lavender Patterned (Double Sided)	12” x 6-1/2”	Card Box
	Purple Patterned	3-3/4” x 1” – Four Pieces	Inside strips to hold embellishments
	Purple Patterned	2-1/2” x 2-1/2” – Four Pieces	Matting for Box Flaps
	Cream	2-1/2” x 6-1/4”	Back of Card – to write personal note
	Floral Strip Border	12” long	Bottom Border (optional)
Tools/Embellishments
	Clear Acetate Strips	1/4" x 2” – One strip for each embellishment
	Embellishments, Embellishments, Embellishments!	I used a variety of coordinating embellishments: · Filigree Die Cut – Raindrops on Roses Die Set · Sentiment – Delicate Asters paper collection · Four Delicate Asters – fussy cut from Delicate Asters paper collection · Three small Delicate Asters (covered with glitter) – Delicate Asters Die Set · Three stamped leaves – Delicate Asters Stamp Set · Five Butterflies – fussy cut from Delicate Asters paper collection Small Bow

Figure 1

Instructions

• Cut Cardstock to make Box – See Figure 1

o Begin with 12” x 6-1/2” piece of double-sided cardstock.

o Score long side at 2-3/4”, 5-1/2”, 8-1/4”, and 11”.

o Turn the cardstock and score at 2-3/4”. (This will be referred to as the “top” of the card.)

o Cut at all scored lines from top to the 2-3/4” scored line.

o Trim the 1” scored strip at an angle to create a tab.

Figure 3

• Glue Cardstock to make Box – See Figures 2-3

Figure 2

o Fold cardstock in half so that tab meets the opposite edge on top. The cardstock you want to show on the outside of the box should be showing.

o Put adhesive on top of tab (I prefer a strong liquid adhesive for this entire project).

o Close flat – with tab hidden inside.

o Open to reveal box.

• Reinforce Box and Provide Place to Write Personal Message – See Figure 4

Figure 6

o Glue the 2-1/2” x 6-1/4” cardstock to back quarter. This reinforces the back of the box to stand when opened – and also provides a place for you to write a personal message.

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 7

• Insert tabs to hold embellishments – See Figures 5-6

Score each of the four 1” strips at 1/2" on each side to create tabs.

o Glue the first strip inside the box so that the 1/2" tab butts up against the back of the box – with the top level to the top of the open box.

o Repeat for each strip – if you glue the tabs directly next to the previous strip, all four strips should fit in nicely with 1/2" between them.

• Mat Box Sides – See Figure 7

o Glue the four 2-1/2” squares to the top sides to mat. When you do this, fold your card flat so you can see what they will look like closed. The top left square changes direction when the box is opened and closed….so if you use a pattern, choose one that will look good upside down as well as upright.

• Embellish, Embellish, Embellish!

o Now the fun begins!!!!! I generally begin with a handful of embellishments that I think I’ll want to use to pop up in the card. Figure 8 shows what I began with for this card….but my ideas quickly changed after choosing the first piece. I added the filigree die cut, fussy cut the sentiment, left off one set of leaves, added butterflies, and added a border at the bottom.

Figure 8

Figure 10

Figure 9

o The first suggestion I have for planning your embellishments is to consider the envelope you will use for mailing. I prefer vellum envelopes – 5-3/4” x 8-3/4”. Particularly when using Heartfelt Creations beautiful vintage paper, the vellum lets the beauty show through even in the envelope! I purchase my envelopes at Hobby Lobby (I work there – so very convenient) – but I’m sure similar envelopes are available elsewhere. The entire time I’m adding my embellishments, I keep the envelope handy for measuring to be sure the finished card will fit in the envelope. Figure 9 shows the beginning of my embellishing – you can see I have the envelope beneath the card for a guide.

o Before gluing any embellishment into place, I try to see how it will look when the card is closed flat and opened. Figures 9-10 show what my first embellishments will look like both ways. After being satisfied with both ways – and ensuring they will fit in the envelope – I’ll glue down the embellishment.

o I always begin with my largest embellishments glued right onto the back of the card. Make sure you only glue them on the back right panel, or the card will not open correctly. For this card, I used the Raindrops on Roses die cut glued to the back…then I fussy cut my sentiment and popped it up on top of the die cut just with a dimensional glue dot.

Figure 11

Figure 12

o For the inside embellishments, cut strips of clear acetate about 1/4" x 2” – one for each embellishment. Glue each embellishment on one end of the acetate strip. When you glue the embellishment inside the box, place glue on FRONT BOTTOM of acetate strip (Figure 11) – and adhere BEHIND each strip (Figure 12). You have five layers to work with – the four strips and the front of the box. You may have some embellishments that don’t need an acetate strip because they are long (such as some of the flowers I’m using).

Figure 13

o Have fun! Begin inserting embellishments one at a time – I don’t bother trying to lay out the entire card – too time consuming and frustrating because it’s hard to keep pieces in place (I suppose you could use some temporary adhesive). I begin with my larger embellishments in the back and move to smaller embellishments in the front. REMEMBER: FOR EACH EMBELLISHMENT, LOOK AT YOUR CARD CLOSED FLAT AND OPEN TO GET A FEEL. You want your card to look full both ways, so some embellishments may be tilted to overlap the center and right edge. As you move along, you will see empty spaces and may need to add new embellishments along the way.

o Figures 12-14 show what my card looks like from a few different angles.

• Embellish Card Front – See Figure 15

o To finish the card off, I fold it flat and embellish the front to my liking. On this card, I added a butterfly to each panel. I didn’t like the plain purple bottom – so I added a floral strip cut from the paper collection – I wrapped the strip around the entire card. In the end, I still wasn’t happy – so I added a small bow at the center for the finishing touch. Some people prefer to leave the front flaps closed so the pop-up embellishments are a surprise – but I love the beauty of all the embellishments – and how they unfold when the card is opened is still a surprise.