Powell - 20 to Make: Mini Gift Boxes

Michelle Powell studied art and design at Gloucester College of Arts and Technology, before graduating with a degree in teaching art from Bath College of Higher Education. Previously editor of Practical Crafts, Scrapbook Magic and Craft Stamper magazines, Michelle is now part-time editor of Beads and Beyond magazine and part-time mum to baby Phoebe. She is currently building her own house with her partner Christian in Gloucestershire, UK. First published in Great Britain 2009 Search Press Limited
Wellwood, North Farm Road,
Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 3DR Text copyright Michelle Powell 2009 Photographs by Debbie Patterson at Search Press Studios Photographs and design copyright Search Press Ltd 2009 All rights reserved. No part of this book, text, photographs or illustrations may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means by print, photoprint, microfilm, microfiche, photocopier, internet or in any way known or as yet unknown, or stored in a retrieval system, without written permission obtained beforehand from Search Press. Print ISBN: 978-1-84448-462-1
EPUB ISBN: 978-1-78126-015-9
Kindle ISBN: 978-1-78126-070-8
PDF ISBN: 978-1-78126-124-8 The Publishers and author can accept no responsibility for any consequences arising from the information, advice or instructions given in this publication.

Readers are permitted to reproduce any of the items in this book for their personal use, or for the purposes of selling for charity, free of charge and without the prior permission of the Publishers. Any use of the items for commercial purposes is not permitted without the prior permission of the Publishers. Suppliers If you have difficulty in obtaining any of the materials and equipment mentioned in this book, then please visit the Search Press website for details of suppliers:
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Contents

Introduction Making your own gift box or bag really does add a special finishing touch when gift giving. It allows you to personalise the gift, theme the box to match the occasion or simply add a touch of luxury! So often we give impersonal gifts such as money or vouchers, particularly for special occasions, and a beautiful, hand-made gift box can turn it into something really special. Although all the creations in this book are fully functioning gift boxes, they could easily be used as papercraft sculptures, seasonal decorations, party favour boxes or as really special three-dimensional greetings cards.

The boxes shown are mini, but all the designs can be scaled up to make a larger box if required. There are many ways to make boxes so Ive tried to incorporate a selection in this book. Quick and simple projects just involve decorating a pre-purchased box; often wedding favour boxes are ideal to be used in this way. Some boxes are made using die cutters or personal cutting machines and decorated with punches; these will speed up the job if you have them, but are not essential. You can easily hand-cut the box net yourself using a template, or by opening out a small food-packing box and drawing around the edges. Alternatively, use ready-made box blanks.

Many of the boxes here are created using folding techniques, and the dimensions are given in this book so that these boxes can be created from scratch. Try a simple origami box such as the one on (ingeniously made from a square of paper without the need for any cutting or gluing), make a mini pram for a new baby or even create a chocolate cake guaranteed to be calorie free! I hope you enjoy making the creations in this book as much as I did, and make the gifts for your friends and loved-ones really special.

Templates and guides All of the templates are reproduced at half their actual size. They should therefore be photocopied at 200 per cent. The cutting and folding guides on next page are not drawn to scale.

Torn and Twisted To create a matching tag, tear a second flower starting with circles roughly 6cm (2in) and 5cm (2in) in diameter.

Add a 1.8cm (in) circle and a 1.5cm ( in) flower to the centre. Mount on a 7.5cm (3in) circle of card, with matching cord to hang. Materials: Patterned card Lemon, pale green, blue and brown card Brown cord All-purpose glue 3D foam pads Tools: Circle punch, 2.5cm (1in) Flower punch Ball-tipped embossing stylus and foam pad Craft knife and cutting mat Instructions: Cut a 20cm (7in) square of patterned card, and score a line 8cm (3in) from each edge. Score diagonally through each of the corner squares now visible, scoring from the centre to the outside edge. The 4cm (1in) square formed in the centre is the box base. Fold up the sides of the box so that the folded corner triangles stick out.

Fold each triangle over on to the next side, and the point on around again to the next side and glue for a twisted look. Tear a rough circle shape about 7.5cm (3in) in diameter from lemon card. Tear in to the circle five times to create petals. Dont try to make it too regular. Curl each petal and scrunch up the flower. Repeat, tearing a circle of pale green card about 6.5cm (2in) in diameter.

Punch a 2.5cm (1in) circle of blue card and a smaller brown flower shape. Cup the flower using an embossing stylus. Cut four 7cm (2in) lengths of brown cord, knot each end and glue them across the blue circle. Fix the cupped flower on top using 3D foam pads. Assemble the bloom using 3D foam pads. For the lid, cut a 7.5cm (3in) square of blue card and score a line 1.5cm (in) from each side.

Cut along one of the score lines on each side, as far as the central square. Tear the edge on each side. Fold on the score lines and glue the small tabs behind the lid sides to assemble. Attach the torn bloom to the top of the lid using 3D foam pads. Back to Nature The organic, loose shape of this flower really suits earthy, natural colours, so it looks wonderful in browns, reds and greens.

Tiny Trainer