Self-Closing Treat Box Tutorial with Video!

Hi All! I thought I'd share a little tutorial with you today for the self-closing treat box. I used this box as part of my Close To My Heart convention showcase last month. You can see that one here. The box we'll be making today is a smaller version that I created from a 4x6 piece of cardstock. So let's get started.

Supply list:

1  4x6-inch piece of White Daisy cardstock
2  2 1/2-inch square pieces of patterned paper [In the written tutorial, I use the Brushed paper pack, but for the video I used Zoe.]
2  2 3/4x3/8-inch pieces of patterned paper
Paper Trimmer
Close To My Heart Score Board (or other means of scoring)
Stylus (or other scoring tool)
Adhesives
(I use 1/4-inch score tape and a tombow tape runner).
Embellishments of your choice.


Now on to the tutorial.....



Step 1:
Trim a piece of White Daisy cardstock to 4 x 6 inches. (Note, you can get 6 boxes from a 12 x 12
inch sheet of cardstock.)

Step 2:
Place your cardstock on the score board vertically and score at 3/4 inch and 3 1/2 inches.

 Step 3:
Turn your cardstock so that the 3/4 -inch scoreline is at the top. Score from top to bottom at 2 3/4 inches and 5 1/2 inches. Then score from the top to the 3/4-inch scoreline at 1 3/8 inches and 4 1/8 inches.

Step 4:
Fold and burnish all of the full-length score lines.

Step 5:
With the 1/2 inch scoreline on the left, cut out the top 1/2-inch square and the bottom 1/2 x 3/4-inch rectangle. The cut along the for score lines at the bottom up to the 3/4-inch score line. (I cut on either side of the partial scorelines to create a slight notch, which allows the box sides to square better when closing.) then cut the middle scoreline at the top to the 1/2-inch scoreline.

Step 6:
Using the single groove that is on the right of the Score Board, line up the bottom middle notch and the missing corner in the groove and score.
Next line up the same notch with the top middle at the cut line and score.
Leaving the top middle cut line in the groove, line up the second other bottom notch (not the middle cut) in the groove and score.
Finally, leaving the bottom notch in the groove, line up the top edge in the groove and score.




Step 7:
Fold along the diagonal score lines and reinforce the creases with the scoring tool that is included with the score board.

Step 8:

Add a strong adhesive (I use ScorTape) to the left tab. Then turn the cardstock over and add adhesive to the first and third tabs from the left.

Step 9:

Fold the box in half and adhere the sides together with the glue tab.

Now, set aside the box and we'll work on the decorative layers. 

Step 10:
To decorate the box, cut two (2) pieces of patterned paper to 3/8 inch x 2 3/4 inches.
Next, cut two (2) more pieces of patterned paper to 2 1/2-inch squares.

Step 11:
Using your score board and stylus/scoring tool, make in indentation in top of each 2 1/2-inch square. (If you are using a paper with directional pattern, this indentation should be place at the bottom of the square.)

Step 12:
Place your 2 1/2-inch square in your paper trimmer with the indentation in the cutting groove. Then line up the bottom corner in the groove and cut. Set aside the corner you removed.
Reposition the indentation into the cutting groove. Line up the remaining bottom corner and cut.
Repeat for the second 2 1/2-inch square.

 You should now have two sets of triangles which look like this:

Step 13:Using a tape runner or other preferred adhesive, adhere the strips of patterned paper between

the top of the box and the 1/2-inch score line. Next, add the pattern paper triangles to the front and back of the box.

Step 14: 

Fold in the bottom tabs and adhere, squaring up the corners so that they are even on all sides.

And that is the box done! The finished dimensions are 3 1/4 inches tall (2 3/4 inches to the closure) by 2 3/4 inches wide at the top, tapering to 1 3/8 inches at the bottom.

Here is a video tutorial that uses different cardstock and Zoe paper, but creates the same size box:




I'm curious to know which tutorial presentation format people prefer: written or video? Let me know what you think in the comments! Thanks for stopping by!