A couple of weeks ago I posted a mint macaron box made using the Detailed Floral Thinlits Dies and it was very popular. Just as I finished making it, I realised that I wanted to make a lined box. So without further ado, here’s my Detailed Floral Thinlits Dies Lined Box.

I started by cutting two long strips 4 inches wide from an 8.5 by 11″ piece of real red card stock. I scored them both at 3.5 inches and 7.5 inches. Next I used the larger of the two floral dies to cut each end of both strips along with the edge die. I then used fast fuse to attach the two real red pieces together so that I now had a cross shape.

To make the liner, I started with a 12 by 12 piece of whisper white card stock. I scored at 4 inches and then 1 groove inside 8 inches; I turned the paper and did the same again. So you have an almost 4 by 4 centre (which will fit inside the box) and the four edges. After burnishing all the score lines, I snipped up to the centre once on each edge (doesn’t matter which side as long as you don’t actually completely cut out a corner). You can see how you then put the box together by taking one of the cut pieces and putting it along the edge of the centre square. I found it was best to put it in place and then I cut down the extra cardstock a little so that there wasn’t so much inside for later cutting – you can see that on the opposite side of the box in the photo.

Next I glued the box together with fast fuse and positioned it in the middle of the real red centre square. After that I glued the real red to the outside of my box liner. I then fussy cut the top of the whisper white liner to match the top of the real red. Of course it wasn’t until after I’d done this that I figured out how I could have used the die instead. Next time, right?

It’s really quite hard to describe how to make something in 3D – hopefully this all makes sense. If not, drop me a line and I’ll clarify. I know I’ve said it before, but I really do need to start making a few videos.

See you tomorrow,

Liz

I love the Detailed Floral Thinlits Dies and have already made four cards with them in the short time that I’ve had the dies. Today I decided it was time that I made something three dimensional since it’s been a while and it’s such fun. I get so focused on making cards that I neglect the 3D space, I’ll try to remedy that going forward. So here is a box made with the Detailed Floral Thinlits Dies which I designed before I had any clear idea of what I was going to use it for!

The box dimensions are set by the width of the die so it’s quite large. I think that a video might help to demonstrate this – this could well be my first video! But until that happens, here are the written instructions:

You need 4 1/8 inch wide by close to 11 inches. So I cut 1/4 inch off an entire piece of cardstock giving me 8 1/4 by 11 inches. I then cut it into two so that I had 4 1/8 by 11 inches. Next score at 3 3/8 inches and 7 1/2 inches and fold on the score lines.

Then you take one of your strips and use the larger piece of the detailed floral thinlits dies and position it with the straight edge close to one of the score lines and the top of the die towards the edge of the strip. Put it so that the space between the bottom of the die and the score line is about the same as the gaps at the edges – just eyeball it. Add the border piece to the top of the die – don’t be too worried about the positioning because the top of the box isn’t straight. This makes it so much easier! Cut out your die and remove all the little pieces. All you have to do is repeat this three more times at each end of both of the strips. Then use either fast fuse or tear & tape to fix the two strips together.

There isn’t any overlap to glue the edges together and you can’t make one because it would be seen, so I grabbed some twine (it’s actually retired from the Holiday catalog but any twine you have handy is obviously fine) and threaded it through and tied bows.

As I may have mentioned a few times, my stamping supplies spread like lava over the table. I found that I have three rolls of glue dots started and countless pages of dimensionals so I gathered them all together and they fit nicely in this box. And they look beautiful at the same time.

But I also like the idea of putting some biscotti or cookies in a food safe bag, tying it up with a bow and adding it to the box. Or maybe a candle. The possibilities are endless but whatever you put in it, this is a great presentation. I can see that I will be making more of these!

I showed the box to my sister Caro, and she loved it, but wasn’t so excited about the silver bows although she could see why I had them. So I came up with an alternative. I created four tiny strips of mint macaron card, maybe half an inch by 1/6 inch and folded them in half. Then I glued half to one side of the box and the other half to the neighbouring side. I had to pinch it together for a few seconds to ensure it would stick, but it holds the box together without spoiling the look. Here’s a close up of the little strip in action:

And the finished box without bows:

I’ve already thought of another variation, but I’ll save that for another day.

See you tomorrow,

Liz