Tuesday 28 May 2013

Box making photo tutorial 1

 Hi there, Katrina here the Fruit Pixie design Elf.

I love to make my own boxes and once you know how they are so simple to do you will too. Over the next 3 tutorials I will show you how to make any 4 side box in what ever size you choose.

 In this tutorial I will show you how to make a square box out of cardstock. I will be using the Hougie board to make mine but you can do it with a ruler and bone folder if you like. Also I will give you a couple of ideas for decoration and explain how you can use this method to make any box any size.

 OK, first a few words about the Hougie board. Now I am not a need everything crafter, if I buy a tool it has to do a job I couldn't do without it. Now saying that I had bought another of the scoring boards and although I liked it I found it didn't always have the measurement I wanted so I decided to give the Hougie board a try and I must admit it was so much better. There are a couple of things I don't like about it, the colour and the tool that comes with it but it dose the job very, very well and has every measurement you could possibly need, inches on one side and cm on the other, so you can decide how deep you want every part of your box and you are not dictated too as you are with the box makers. So if you have been thinking about a score board I would recommend the Hougie.

  So lets make our box. For this tutorial I will be using -

              * Hougie board
              * Coredinations cardstock
              * Embossing folder and machine
              * Wet glue
           

    How to size your box
  Now sizing your box is very simple and works the same what ever size or shape you want or if you prefer inch or cm's. Here is how I do it -

             1. Decide on the size box you need, that will be your base number.
   
             2. Decide how deep you want your box to be, that is your side number

             3. Work out the size card you need to cut by adding together-
                  side + base + side = cardstock size cut twice

    So lets say we want a square box 4 inch square with 2 inch deep sides so we would need -

    side ( 2" )  +  base (4")  +  side ( 2" )  =  cardstock size 8" square cut twice

   But what if you don't want a square but a long thin box? The way you work it out is the same but you will Need to do it twice to get your cardstock size. By playing with the base and side measurements you will get different size and shape boxes.  Back to the long thin box, say a 6 inch long by 3" wide box with a 1 inch side -

  side  ( 1" )  +  base length ( 6" )  +  side ( 1" )  =  cardstock length size 8"
                                                                                                                       
  side  ( 1" )  +  base width  ( 3" )  +  side ( 1" )  = Cardstock width size 5"
              So you need a piece 8x5"


       We will be making a long thin box in the next tutorial

    Just one other thing before we make our box You need to cut your card out twice, one for the base and one for the lid but if you keep them both the same size the lid won't fit over the base, so you need to cut the base piece slightly smaller. I always cut 3/16 " off 2 sides of the base piece of cardstock and that is usually enough to get the lid to fit.

                OK, lets make a box!!

 1. You need to decide on your box size and cut out the card stock accordingly. For this box I have decided to do a box with a 4" base and 1" side so I worked out -

    side ( 1" )  +  base ( 4" )  + side ( 1" )  = cardstock size 6" x 6"

  So I cut 2  6"x 6" but then cut 3/16 " off  two sides of one of the squares which will be our base.



2. Place your cardstock onto your Hougie board and score at 1" and  5". Turn your card around 90 degrees and score the same. Do the same on the other piece of card too.



3. You will now notice you have 4 squares on each corner where your score lines have crossed. You need to snip the all 4 corners as shown above. Use the fold as the cut line then a diagonal cut up to it. Repeat on the other piece.


4. Your card pieces should look like this now. If you want to do something to your box like add embossing, sprays, stamps, stickers etc it is easier to do it now. Just remember the smaller size will be you base and the larger one your lid. Believe me it may sound silly but I have decorated my base as my top many times !!!


With this box I decided to put it through an embossing folder ( I used the Tim Holtz collage and notebook set )  I had to run it through a couple of times to cover the whole box. I then rubbed sandpaper over the top and then wiped it with the Dust Buster!!




5. It looks nice and professional if you punch little half circles out of two sides of your lid. I use a circle punch  to do that. Try to remember, unlike me that time, to do it before you put the box together!!



6. Now we can put our box together. Fold all your score lines and fold the little triangles into the inside of your box. Apply a wet glue, you can use tape but I find wet glue is by far the best, onto the triangle tabs as shown above



I use a little peg or paper clip to hold the joints together while they dry.


There we have it. our 4" square box 


This box was also made out of a 6 x 6 " square of cardstock but has 2" sides and a 2" base. With this one I used a border punch to punch around the lid of the box before I glued it together.

        I hope you enjoyed this first box tutorial and managed to make a box. Next time we will make a long thin box and put an aperture in the lid.

       If you have any questions, no matter how small or silly please ask, I am happy to help.

        Have fun box making, I hope you can see just how easy they are and how many uses they have.                      

Wednesday 15 May 2013

Chalkboard Triptyic

Hi everyone, Katrina the design elf here again. This time I have been playing with the wonderful Crafty individuals chipboard frames and swirls, you can find them in the chipboard and alterable section. There are so many things you can do with these and they are so easy to paint or ink as they have such a smooth finish.

With mine I decided to make something different, a blackboard triptych which you can put on your desk and add notes or just doodles or what ever you want really.
 

   I started by painting the 3 larger frames and then added a crackle glaze. I then, although you can't see it very well, stamped over the top. To connect the 3 frames together I reinforced 2 pieces of ribbon with a couple of strips of card, otherwise I found it wouldn't stand up and glued them to the backs of the frames. Then covered the square back with book papers to tidy it up
 

  I then cut 3 pieces of blackboard vinyl, which I got in Wilkinsons but you can get it all over the place now, and added a couple of hand cut book page leaves which I stained with some of the Ranger distress stain wild honey. I also added one of the Craftime Enchanted metal flowers to finish it off.
 

    This would make a lovely gift of course but why not make one instead of a card, write your birthday message in chalk and then they can wipe it off after their birthday and use it again.

                                                                               Happy crafting! Love Katrina x

Tuesday 7 May 2013

Great Gatsby book mark

Hi everyone on this beautiful sunny day at last!! Katrina, design elf here.

OK here is my last project using the Craftime Gatsby Chic collection. A bookmark. Well it just had to be done didn't it :) After all the inspiration for this collection is " The Great Gatsby " I presume, which is a great book. I recommend it if you haven't already read it.

Now for my bookmark. I used one of the long gold cards, stuck it together and rounded the edges. I then used the background papers and the stickers from the sticker sheet to decorate it. A tassel and some of the pearl strings made a nice collection to dangle over the outside of your book. 



   Perhaps give it with a copy of "The Great Gatsby" as a gift for a bookworm.

Hope you have enjoyed my ideas for this collection, I am sure you can think of loads of other things to make with it too.

Wednesday 1 May 2013

Gatsby Chic box and card collection




Hi everyone, design elf Katrina here, welcoming back chief Fruit Pixie Sarah :)

Here is my next project using the Craftime Gatsby Chic collection, this would make a great gift or just somewhere to store thing in your home. For this box I have made some small cards to keep inside, ideal to use as notlets or just to cheer someone up.

  My Art Deco box was made using balck cardstock, for this size box you will need 2 12 x 12 pieces, I made the box using the Hougie board. I then decorated it using the Gatsby Chic papers for the sides, the top is decorated using the wonderful ribbon trim and a buckle and tassle. The sides to the box with Gold mosaic and the sparkle gems. The border around the base is an EK sucess punch from my own craft bits but I thought it went well.






 
To get the ribbon to look neat and lie flat I cut another square of the same card and then wrapped the ribbon around that and glued it to the botton of the card then the card to the lid.

 
The cards that come with the collection are DL cards in gold, silver and black. I personaly found them too large for the other pieces of the collection but perfect if you cut them in half, plus you have twice as many and a perfect size to use all your scraps of paper and glitter sheets too! 

 
This one used the paper, glitter sheets, 2 stickers from the image sheet and then some of the pearl gems to finish.

 
This one used paper glitter sheets, stickers and ribbon.

 
This one glitter sheets, paper, stickers and some of the sequin trim. Use a wet glue to attach the sequin trim.

 
This one used paper, glitter sheet, stickers and one of the printed tags and ribbon.

 
For this one I used paper, glitter sheet, sparkley gems, a tag and some of the ribbon.

 
This one used paper, glitter sheets, tag, sparkley gem and a pearl gem.

 
This one used paper, glitter sheet, sticker and some sparkley gems.

 
They all then fit into the box and I also put in the cute little notebook that also comes in the range to keep perhaps addresses in or bithdates.


   I plan to do a tutorial on box making soon but if you have any questions please ask them and I will try to answer them.