Making Little Boxes

When I sell a piece of my jewelry on Etsy or elsewhere, I send it off in a cute little pouch-box.   People who have received one often say they like the box almost as much as the necklace! So I thought I'd show you how I make these little customized pouches.  Please click photos to see all the details more clearly.

You know how many Etsy sellers like to send along little "extras" and goodies to their customers?--well, my little handmade box is the little something "extra", since it consists of a little more of my artwork.  It also is an example of how I cannot throw anything away.  You see, I make these out of discarded cardboard, like old cereal boxes, shipping envelopes, tissue boxes, etc.  If I'm getting ready to toss out something that has a large, flat expanse of cardboard, instead it goes in my "I can use that someday" pile.   Here in Oregon, it seems we recycle everything anyway; I just take it another, personal, step further.

side note: I took a photo of my stack of flattened Cheerios and Kleenex boxes...but it was a little embarrassing, and hoarder-esque (it's' really not that big of a stack. Really.)  

ANYway, I've always liked these pouch-style boxes, even have a stack of new ones I bought at a paper store.  But I wanted to cover them with my own paper, and it was just easier to do that if they were completely flat, so I started making my own.  Here's how I do it:

Find a template pattern for the box: You can find this template and many others online for the shape.  My box ends up about 4" tall; if I need a bigger one, I just enlarge the template on my photocopier.  

Making my own decorative paper: For this project, I wanted custom-designed paper (but you can also use pretty scrapbook paper, printed digital designs you have made, or many other choices).  I made a simple black and white collage with clip-art images and my store logo.  I traced the box template onto this collage.  Then I just started doodling in the white spaces with a very fine Micron pen.  I worked quickly and was going for a loose, very random sketch-y style, adding little written notes, flowers, dots, etc.  I liked the whimsical doodles juxtaposed with the classic engraved images.  After the doodling was complete, I cut out the box shape along my traced outline---and this became my "master".

A collage of clip-art images, then doodles added, then cut into the box template shape.

Next, I put this cutout shape on my photocopier's glass, and ran off a bunch of copies onto brown butcher paper.  (I found a huge roll of butcher paper for next to nothing at Goodwill, and I cut up sheets from it to feed into my photocopier.  I'll be using that roll for years...)

Next, I rough-cut around my butcher paper image, sprayed the back with adhesive (I love Super 77; it's a workhorse in my studio for many projects), and mounted it to the printed side of my recycled cardboard, using a brayer to burnish the paper firmly to the cardboard:
   
By covering the printed side of the recycled cardboard, the back side is left nice and clean for your upcycled project.  I have found that a used FedEx envelope, or something similar, is the perfect weight cardboard for these tiny boxes, since it is lightweight and flexible enough to bend along the curved folds.  (For larger pouches, you can use a slightly heavier cardboard, like a cereal box).  (Also note: you can eliminate this adhering-to-cardboard step all together if you're using a cardstock that is heavy enough for a pouch.  I just like mine to be a little sturdier than cardstock).
Next, I cut out along the box outline:

Notice the top box in the photo above has the addition of white highlights.  I just made simple doodles here and there with a white gel pen, to jazz it up a little.  This is why I love working with brown paper: white shows up so nicely, and is such a quick and easy way to add so much extra life to a simple black-and-white print.  Yes, I add this individually to each box, but it literally only takes a minute or two, and is worth the extra bit of time.  Plus it is so much fun to do! And no two turn out the same.
Next, I scored along all the fold lines, using a stylus ( you could use a dried-out ballpoint pen or similar):

 Then, I used double sided tape to adhere the side flap (it's important to go all the way to the top and bottom edges of the flap.  You could also use glue and clamp it together, but that takes longer):

And the box is done!  The white doodles on the left pouch, above,  were added with a white Prismacolor pencil.  I actually prefer using the pencil rather than the white gel pen (seen on the right, above)--it goes faster and I often have issues with gel pens not flowing and skipping, but I do like the fine line I can get with the pen.  Here's the back side:

So, there you have it.  A peek inside my crazy world where I make my own boxes out of trash!  It may seem like it takes an excessive amount of time to make each of these individually, but really it only takes a few minutes, especially if I am making a bunch at once.  It took me waaaaay longer just to write this 'great American novel' of a post!!

                                               Linking up with Debra at Common Ground: