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Hi everyone,
nice that you stop by my blog! In this series I would like to show you how you can create your first own explosion box with little crafting knowledge and tools. Don't worry, it's easier than you think and your work will be rewarded with the perfect gift. Because most of all you are happy about an individual, self-made gift that comes from the heart. Whether for a wedding, birthday or just for the moment - an explosion box can be given away for any occasion. It guarantees a great surprise effect and it offers an infinite number of design options. But with the many possible options, there is often the problem when you are faced with creating a new box. Where do I start In this blog entry I would like to help you decide which type of base area is most suitable for your handicraft project and show you step by step how the individual bases are created. At the end of the article there is a quick guide with templates including dimensions for downloading, printing and re-tinkering (PDF). Are you ready? Very good, let's get started!
Now let's make a box with the outer dimensions 10x10x10 cm together. All you need is a ruler, a pencil, an eraser, a glue and scissors. In order to ensure a sufficient stability of the box, the cardboard that you use should have a grammage of approximately 200-300 g/m2 and be at least 30x30 cm in size. You can use, for example, a common cardboard (220g/m2) or a photo cardboard (300g/m2) from your surrounding craft shop. Scrapbooking papers (usually available in the sizes 30.5x30.5 cm) with a sufficient grammage are also suitable. The papers I used in the picture above, are available online in different colors, for example at Faltkarten.com. On this website, you can also find beautiful pastel shaded colors which are recently popular lately as well as various design and special papers.
Now we have different possibilities to design the corners of the box. The easiest way is to completely cut out the squares in the corners, fold the remaining auxiliary lines and remove the pencil lines. Done!
My tip for folding: It's best to place a ruler flush with the line and press the box against it. For an even cleaner edge, place your ruler flush and lightly cut the line with a cutter or craft knife (available in our shop). You just have to be careful not to apply too much pressure and damage the paper. In addition to the cutter, there are also other folding and creasing aids such as the embossing pen* or the folding stick* that you can use. After you have folded the carton, draw the fold line. If you have one at hand, it is best to use a folding bone to smooth it out. You can find more tips for handicrafts with paper in my blog entry "Handicrafts with Paper - My Tips and Material Recommendations".
If you would like to have side pockets to insert greeting cards, money or vouchers into your box, please proceed as follows:
The opening of my pockets always points outwards, because I find it more user-friendly. However, you can also let the pockets point inwards if you like it better. This base area forms the basis for a large number of my explosion boxes, for example, also my wedding box "Aiyana". For this box, I have created one side with a greeting card for congratulations and designed the opposite side as a side pocket:
If you don't need the side pockets, you can also connect the side walls with shaped corners like hearts or triangles.
Personally, I prefer to use the simple basic model because this is where the "explosion effect" is most pronounced. In the other two versions, the four side walls are still connected to one another and therefore the resistance is a little higher. I also like to use the pages of the simple basic model to create bags. Nevertheless, the other two models are very nice to look at and if you weigh down the side walls enough with design elements, they will "explode" beautifully.
A big advantage of this floor space is that it can be expanded at will. Depending on how much space you need, you can add more layers - more boxes in the box, so to speak 😊. For example, I prefer to make boxes with 3 layers and include various photo and drawing elements in my gift. I dedicate myself to this layer model in more detail in the second part of this blog entry (will be published soon) together with the various design elements that you can use to decorate your box. As an example for this layer model, I would like to show you my very first explosion box, with which it all started:
In the example above, I used a corner type to build a children's room. In the center of the box there is a cradle and a rocking horse. I cut out a rectangular hole in one of the side walls to create a window which further enhances the spatial effect. The focus of the corner box is clearly on the middle. The two remaining sides are mostly used for a simple side pocket and a card.
If you're thinking of an event and a room scene pops into your head, you can turn this idea in most of the cases into a corner box. How about a classroom box as a gift for a school enrollment or a living room box for a housewarming party? There are no limits to your creativity!
The first steps to create this box are the same as above: Cut the cardboard of your choice to 30x30 cm and draw four lines with your pencil. Now cut out only one of the corner squares and cut through the adjacent auxiliary line until you hit the center square of the base area. To design the side pocket, we cut the opposite corner squares at the diagonal and the auxiliary lines above them (as shown below):
We bend the remaining auxiliary lines again with the help of our ruler and smooth the fold lines. Then we add glue to the right side of the base area. The glued side is then set up at right angles and glued again to the back of the other side. Our corner box base area is now complete. Tip: You'll find it easier if you decorate your center and sides first and then glue the sides together.
Another tip for gluing: I prefer to use double-sided tape. Double-sided adhesive tape provides a very high adhesive strength and you don't have to wait until the glue has dried. In addition, there will be also no waves in the cardboard when drying. These waves can lead to unattractive results when using liquid glue, especially when gluing thinner types of cardboard or when using a high amount of glue. You can find my "all-rounder" adhesive tape from the brand 3M (6 mm, 50 meters) here.*. This offers sufficient adhesive power to firmly glue cardboard and, in my opinion, has a good price-performance ratio. The second tape that I use very often is from the Rayher brand (6 mm, 10 meters) and is available in our shop. This adhesive tape has a slightly higher adhesive strength and is available in smaller quantities if you do not need it that often. You can often find this tape in craft stores as well. You can find many more tips for crafting with paper in this blog post on our website.
Another popular use case for this type of base area is stage designs. Just create a small rectangular podium and connect your base area with it at right angles. This design can, for example, be used to create great gift boxes for musicals, theater or concert vouchers.
The first steps for creating this version are the same as above: The cardboard of your choice is cut to the dimensions 30x30 cm and the four guidelines are drawn in with a pencil. The example below shows a box with a side pocket to the right and left of the stage. Proceed according to the photo instructions below. Then make a rectangle that is a bit smaller than your central area (in our example 9x8x1 cm) and glue the bottom and back of this rectangle to your base area as shown in the pictures below. Your stage is ready, which you can then decorate as you wish.
Now cut out the outer lines, lightly trace all the inner lines with a cutter and bend the resulting fold lines with a folder. Now put glue on the adhesive flaps (if possible, use strong double-sided tape) and put your lid together.
See you soon! Your
The IDEE Creativmarkt and Rayher Hobbymarkt are great online stores for craft supplies. Here you will find all the necessary material for your DIY projects: handicrafts, knitting, sewing or jewelry making - there is something for everyone here! Take a look at the following links *:
The links marked with an asterisk (*) are so-called commission links. If you click on a link and make a purchase through this link, Suzu Papers will get a commission from your purchase. The price does not change for you as a consumer. [Source: affima.de]
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Great instructions that you simply provide.
THANKS A LOT! :)
Thanks for this wonderful guide! I can finally make an explosion box.
My students really want to make a gift box in class. I have found the perfect guide here that will save me a lot of time and search. Thank you very much for this great help!
Greetings and all the best
Excellent! I've already gone through dimensions etc. in my head, and I'm thinking about how it could work with the bags ... I'm thrilled, how easy you understand it and how simple the steps are, I would have reached the goal in a complicated way, but that's how it was it much easier! THANK YOU
Hello!
We are thrilled ... by the great instructions for the explosion box ... We dared for the first time and even a non-hobbyist in our triple round managed to make a great box ... 💕👍😀 Thank you for the great elaboration and explanation ... Many greetings Gabi u. their handicraft guests
Hello great post! I came across the article in my search for cardboard boxes. Kind regards
Hi all,
Thanks for all the nice comments! I'm really pleased that the blog entry is so well received and many of you are interested in a second part. Unfortunately, the second part has moved back a bit, as I have designed some new products and prepared for the Christmas business. But I've decided to publish the second part by mid-December at the latest! Thank you for your patience and support. I would be glad, if you also stop by the second part.
Best regards,
Your Suzu
Hi Susan,
Very great instructions 👍👍👍 great explained. Bastel himself for over a year explosion boxes and think it's great that there are people like you are then something new in the design show, namely that with the stage structure, I can not yet. I already worked on 50 boxes.
Thank you very much
LG Franzi
Hello
First of all thanks for this great guide.
When does 2 get out of this?
Hi Susanne,
Thank you so much for your paper blog on Explosion cards, photos are very clear and helpful. So the free PDF!
Looking forward to giving it a go now I have your instructions.
Many thanks,
Trish
Thank you for this great guide !! Very clear and explained in great detail !! I will use this guide in the coming days to make my first Explosionsbox. I'm looking forward to the second part !! Thanks again and best regards
Super nicely explained and great result :), we tinker with enthusiasm and eagerly wait for Teil2 for the inner workings.
Best regards,
Thanks a lot for the tips! Very helpful!