Decorated gift box

For Easter I gave my grandma a big box of birthday cards -- forty-five of them, to be exact, plus five blank cards. Once I had all the cards made, I had to decide how to package them. I found a box that was just the right size -- about 8" wide and long and 6" deep -- but there were two little problems: it didn't have a cover, and it was a boring white box. Luckily those are pretty minor problems for a paper crafter.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Petal Patch Designer Series Paper (DSP), Certainly Celery textured 12" x 12" card stock
Accessories: 1-1/4" Certainly Celery striped grosgrain ribbon, Chocolate Chip satin ribbon, Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons, large pearls, 1/2" Scor-Tape (Scor-Pal), Simply Scored tool

Here is how the box started. I forgot to take pictures while I was adding the DSP, but it was a pretty easy process. You need three 6" x 12" pieces of matching DSP; an all-over random print is a good choice so the seams from the overlapping pieces won't be so noticeable. Apply a strong adhesive, such as Scor-Tape, to the back of the DSP and/or along the top and bottom edges of the box, and then carefully adhere the paper. Tip: Pull the backing off the adhesive a little bit at a time as you are moving around the box to help reduce the chance that something will get stuck in the wrong place.

Now for the cover. Here is a brief tutorial that explains how I made mine:

Step 1: Determine the size of the cover and score the card stock.

My box was about 7-7/8" square, so I wanted the cover to be 8" square so it would fit over the box. So on my 12" x 12" card stock, I scored along each side 2" in from the edge.

Step 2: In each corner there will be a square formed by the intersecting score lines. On each of these squares, cut along one of the score lines just to the point where it meets the other score line, making a tab. I usually make the cuts so two are on one side of the card stock and the other two are on the opposite side.

Step 3: Fold the card stock along the score lines. Apply adhesive to each of the tabs, fold them in and attach them behind the adjoining flap.

Step 4: If needed, trim along the bottom edge of cover so all the sides are even. (I had a tab or two that weren't lined up perfectly after I adhered them, so just I trimmed off the extra card stock.)

Step 5: Embellish the cover as desired.

I adhered a piece 1-1/4" striped grosgrain ribbon along the middle of the cover. I used three more pieces of ribbon in different lengths to make three loops. I flattened each loop in the middle and adhered them together from largest to smallest. Then I added a button with a pearl in the center to the top loop. After I was done I decided I wanted to have a little touch of brown on the cover, so I made two small tabs with Chocolate Chip satin ribbon and tucked them between two of the other ribbon loops.

Thanks for stopping by!