Box Making Tutorial

Well, here it is, how to make a custom box. This will cover the main points and give you the gist of it. Once you have the main ideas you'll figure out your own ways of doing it. Feel free to ask questions if there is something I haven't covered.

To start, here's most of the stuff you will need. It's not pictured, but a cutting board is also necessary. The quilting square is probably the most useful tool in the bag. I found this one in the crafts department at Wal-Mart. For material, I like corrugated cardboard that is thin and stiff. It's lightweight, easy to work with, and makes a good solid box. If the cardboard is too thick the end result will be a box that is "spongy" and flimsy. It's usually pretty easy to find good cardboard to work with. The material I'm using for this demonstration came from a box that held light globes at one point.

Next comes laying out the pattern. What you have to do is measure the deck you want the box for and make your pattern slightly larger. For the outer flaps that will become the sides, measure the height of the deck making sure to include any LWBs or other material you plan on putting in the box. Then transfer the measurements to one of your pieces of cardboard as shown here.

After you've done that, trim off the excess and you will be left with something that should look like this.

Now, to make the sides you will need to make creases with a straightedge like so. After you do this on all four sides you will be well on your way, and the finished product will look like this.

By now I'm sure you can already see where this is going and you could probably figure the rest out on your own; however, when I get time I'll post a few more tips that will make your life a whole lot easier.

So do you make a second side slightly bigger and use it for a top that you slide on? How do you figure the dimensions of that, if so.

Okay, I was just about to get to that.

As for the top, you want to make the center area (the rectangle in the center that I am pointing to with the ruler) just a little bigger so the top will slide over the bottom. Exactly how much bigger can get a little tricky. It seems that each box is different. But the nice thing about this method is that the cardboard can be very forgiving. When it gets moist with glue you can actually strech or mold it within reason. I usually just eyeball it and hope for the best. After you've done a few it gets easier.

As for the side flaps, you can make them the same as the bottom. When you are done they will be raised about 1/8 - 3/16 of an inch anyway because the lid is slightly raised. You can make them shorter if you want to, but you don't have to.

(more to come)

I like to cover the inside of my boxes as well as the outside. There is a very easy way to do this if you do it before you tape the sides together. There are any number of possible materials you can use as a covering. I've been on a paper sack kick lately because I have so many of them around. Usually it's just the right thickness (not too thin but not so thick that it's stiff and hard to work with). One thing you have to be careful of with paper sacks is if they are too thin and have printing on the reverse side it will show through. It's hard to go wrong with scrapbook paper. It's inexpensive and readily available.

While the box is still flat cover the inside surface with glue. I like using a trim sponge to apply the glue. After you've applied the glue, place it face down on your paper and smooth out any wrinkles. After you have it smooth, trim the excess and give it a final smoothing. Do the same with the top.

Once this is done, you're ready to fold the flaps up and make your box. I forgot to take a picture of this process but it's very simple. Just fold the flaps up and secure each corner with a peace of tape. I like transparent for this, it seems a little more sturdy than regualr tape.

To cover the outside, apply glue as shown here, then press it down on your paper and smooth. Do the same with the top.

To figure out the dimensions for the rest of the covering, make it the same width as the sides plus 1/2 to 3/4" more to allow for overlapping, see here. Transfer your measurement to the paper, see here, then mark a line around the outside of the box and trim.

(more on the way)

We're almost done!

Take your ruler and mark two lines as shown here. Then with a pair of scissors cut each line right up to the corner of the box. Apply glue and fold paper up making sure to pull it tight smoothing out an excess or wrinkles. Fold the top of paper down and smooth. Do the other end the same way. Apply glue to the sides and fold up.

That's basically it. You can decorate however you want. Once you do it a couple of times it goes really fast.

Finished Box

Thanks a lot Abrac for this tutorial! It'll come in handy, for sure!!

cut some paper...

Absolute Abrac Adabra,

You've brought my brain pan from a simmer, to a full on boil!

Rocking rock star creative! I'm so down with this -- so into it -- I want to Jack bird construct a big bang box like this.

How awesome, spinning right on nice, to bring it like this, and make all "clear" in your images of construction.

A massive sandwich of thanks goes out to you, as I preform a tumbling donkey dance of joy.

Durant "need to find my glue" Hapke

Thank you so much for this. I've been admiring your boxes! I'm so glad I can start making my own.

wow, what a pretty comprehensive guide! i never could get my documentation organized. have you tried using illustration board or bristol? it's thinner but more compact than corrugated board (though perhaps a little more difficult to work with)?

Thanks everyone for your positive feedback.

I just thought I would share a trick I learned for figuring out the dimensions of the top. Don't know why it took me so long, I'm a slow learner sometimes.

I've found it helps to make the entire bottom first. The dimensions will change slightly depending on what kind of covering you use. Then with the bottom complete, take a measurement and add approximately 3/16" or 3mm to the overall measurement. This is a pretty good rule of thumb. I tried it today when I made a little box for my Universal Waite Pocket Deck and was really happy with the way it turned out.

Here's a picture. This deck already had a nice box but I wanted to give it something a little different. I made the label on my PC with Microsoft Works Word Processor.