Decorated Kraft Gift Boxes

Hello, Crafters.

The workshop order I put in for my October customers arrived at 10 am on Thursday 4th November which was excellent considering the order wasn’t placed until Sunday evening. The knock on effect, of course, was that my customers received their Happy Mail unusually early! Some customers received a pack of Kraft Gift Boxes (156569) in their Happy Mail which are featured on page 11 in the Christmas Mini Catalogue. I received an email from one customer who was particular pleased to receive them and asked if I had made a video showing what could be done with them – unfortunately, I haven’t. I went onto Pinterest and picked out the links for about 10 ideas for decorating the boxes and sent them to Jill. After having seen the samples, I was inspired, not least because I needed a gift box for our grandson Stephen’s birthday gift!

The first box I made was a Mint Macaroon Whimsy & Wonder Shaker Box! At first glance you may think the Window Sheet (Acetate) looks quite “misty”. This is caused by the protective film over the back of it. Please don’t forget to remove this because the window is bright and clear once the film has been removed. With all three boxes I decorated yesterday, I started by stamping the outside of the box. I used the short Christmas Tree from the Whimsical Trees Stamp Set with Crumb Cake Ink to decorate the base of this first box.

If you choose a directional image like I did, remember to pay attention which way you position your stamp on different areas of the box. The box closes like a pizza box which means the top of the acetate window is by the centre fold of the box. To make sure my trees were up the right way, I laid my box portrait style with the window facing the correct direction. I wasn’t worried about my trees laying sideways on the left- and right-hand sides of the lid but stopped stamping after I reached the spine. At this point, I turned the box around 180° and stamped the trees upright. It worked out well! Phew!!

I cut a piece of Whimsy & Wonder Designer Series Paper (DSP) that measured 4½” x 6⅜” and I adhered it to a piece of Basic White Cardstock (CS) the same size. This was for behind the window to form the shaker. I wasn’t happy to use a piece of DSP on its own, nor did I want just part of the lid covered for the shaker. It would have worked but I decided it would look more professional if I covered the complete inside lid. After removing the protective film from the acetate I put a line of our Foam Adhesive Strips (141825) – which are on page 167 in the Annual Catalogue – around the edge of the acetate  for the actual shaker part.

You can use Dimensionals especially if you have enough spare outside edges, otherwise it would take a very long time using individual Dimensionals cut in half, making sure there weren’t any gaps between them! LOL! By the way, the height of the Foam Strips is ⅛” which is twice the height of  Dimensionals. Next I put a second line of Foam Strips around the outside edge of the inside lid while making sure I didn’t put any of the strips on the score lines. Then, I very gently went around the inside edges of the smaller rectangle of Foam Strips with my Embossing Buddy to make them non-sticky so the sequins wouldn’t stick to them. Take your time and be very gentle otherwise you’ll get white powder on your window and you won’t be able to see your sequins!!

Next I added some Subtle Shimmer Sequins (156407) on page 37 of the Christmas Mini Catalogue, plus a couple of pinches of last year’s leftover Snowflake Sequins. Then I carefully removed the backing from the Foam Strips and placed the DSP layer face down, with the top of the design (if it’s directional) by the centre spine of the box. I applied some gentle pressure to make sure the sequins were secure first and then making sure the DSP layer was secure as well. If you find – like I did – some exposed Foam Strips, go over the exposed sticky parts with your Embossing Buddy.

 

To decorate the outside of the box, I die-cut a Mint Macaroon CS Christmas Tree using a die from the Christmas Tree dies. I took a piece of the DSP and used the reverse pattern which is also in Mint Macaroon and die-cut the garland that goes around the tree. Using some Basic White CS I also die-cut some baubles and some stars. I adhered some of the baubles randomly on the tree and added a star to the top of all tree tops that were on the top part of the lid.  I used some retired Mint Macaroon ribbon and tied it around the box landscape and moved the bow to the right-hand side. I adhered the Christmas tree using Dimensionals but making sure they didn’t glue down the ribbon.

I have run out of time so I will be back tomorrow to tell you about the other two boxes. Today’s box was the most involved and I think it was quicker to make than it was to write about it! LOL! So, that’s it from me today. I’ll be back tomorrow and in the meantime, take care and stay safe. Happy crafting.

JanB. xx
Products used for this project: please click on any of the links to be taken to my 24/7 online Stampin’ Up! shop. The Hostess Code for NOVEMBER 2021 is FWS2DFZV Thank you. xx

Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock [138344] £8.25	Basic White A4 Cardstock [159228] £9.00	Whimsy & Wonder 12″ X 12″ (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [156329] £14.00	Kraft Gift Boxes [156569] £9.25	Whimsical Trees Bundle (English) [156810] £47.50
Crumb Cake Classic Stampin’ Pad [147116] £7.00	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin’ Ink Refill [121029] £3.50	Subtle Shimmer Sequins [156407] £6.00	Paper Trimmer [152392] £23.00	Simply Shammy [147042] £7.50
Paper Snips [103579] £9.25	Take Your Pick [144107] £9.00	Bone Folder [102300] £6.50	Grid Paper [130148] £11.75	Silicone Craft Sheet [127853] £5.50
Multipurpose Liquid Glue [154974] £4.50	Stampin’ Dimensionals [104430] £3.75	Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals [144108] £3.75