Wrap it Up Baby!

Howdy all!  Happy Monday to you all today!  I'm Allison and I'm your hostess for today's Inspire Me Monday!

If you haven't already checked out our latest Power & Spark challenge for the month of September, you need to do that!  It's all about gift giving!  So I thought I'd share a really quick an easy tutorial on a fun way to package some handmade cards, gift certificate or something else you special you've made for a friend or loved one.  This tutorial will teach you how to make a Fold Over Box that fits A2 sized cards.

Here are the measurements of the cardstock you will need:

• TWO - 6" x 6 1/2" (lid & bottom)
• ONE - 1" x 11" (belly band)
• ONE - 8" x 6 1/2" (3D box)
• ONE - 6 1/8" x 4 5/8" (box topper) 

STEP 1:
Using your 8" x 6 1/2" sized cardstock, SCORE all 4 sides at 1".  Then cut V-shaped tabs like the image below.

STEP 2:
Add a strong adhesive to the outside of each tab and adhere the tabs to the inside of the box to create sides (see photo insert).

STEP 3:
Using the 6" x 6 1/2" pieces of cardstock (TWO), SCORE on one side of each piece at the 1" mark on the long side (6 1/2" side).

STEP 4:
Add strong adhesive to the inside of one of the 1" scored strips of the cardstock.  Adhere the 1" strips together as shown to create a 3D card.

STEP 5:
Decorate the inside of your lid base using the desired patterned paper.
Adhere the box to the inside of your card using strong adhesive.  The box is designed to have a 1/4" gap all the way around the edge of the box.

Decorate the inside of your box if desired.  Make sure to trial the piece of paper before you adhere it to the bottom of your box.

STEP 6:
Create a box topper to fit your piece of 6 1/8" x 4 5/8".  I used the festive "Bough Wow Wow" stamp set to decorate the top of my Fold Over Box.  I kept the colors simple, using only warm greys and red to color my stamped image with so it matched my patterned paper.  DO NOT adhere your topper to your cardstock until the after the next step.

STEP 7:
Take your box topper cardstock and make a mark indicating the center of your topper.  Then carefully wrap your belly band around the box loosely and crease it to match the height of the box. If you wrap the belly band too tight, you won't be able to get it on and off easily.

Adhere your belly band ends either under or on top of your topper (it's your choice!).  I ended up adhering mine underneath.  The pencil line won't show because your going to adhere your topper right over top of it!

STEP 8:
Adhere your topper to your topper cardstock using a strong adhesive.
You can further decorate your box by adding decorative paper or ribbon to your belly band or even around the edge of the box.

At last, you have a little decorative box to send some fabulous cards or a gift...

And here it is with the topper and belly band off.  As you can see, I added a little bit of patterned paper to the lid so it wasn't too bare when the topper was removed.

Thanks for joining me today!  I hope you'll join me and the Bloom Brigade and play along with our Gifts from the Heart challenge this month!  Remember, anything goes when it comes to gift giving!

Happy stamping and creating everyone!

~ Allison ~

Supplies:
stamps:  Power Poppy (Bough Wow Wow)
cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red), Neenah Solar White 
inks:  Memento (Grey Flannel), Stampin' Up! (Real Red)
patterned papers:  Photo Play Paper Co. (Dear Santa 6x6) 
pens:  Sakura (Glaze), Copic Markers
dies: Cheery Lynn Designs (French Pastry Doily)
lace:  Decollections (Lace Tape)
other:  Stickles, thread.