Fall Stationery Box Tutorial

Hi there paper crafting friends!  It’s Michelle Starcher, aka the Bookish Designer, hopping onto the blog to walk you through the steps to create Lori’s Stationery Box 2 (SVGSilhouette).  This stationery set includes places to store your A2 cards and envelopes along with tags.  You can customize this box, so you will probably want to make more than one to store your cards for different occasions. All the pieces are 8.5×11 compatible, and there are two tag shapes and an A2 card base included in the file.

In this photo tutorial, I will break down the steps to create the Stationery Box 2.  I wanted a place to store my fall themed cards, so I used burnt orange cardstock for all of the base pieces.  I used accents and a plaid pattern paper from Lori’s collection, A Perfect Autumn, to finish out the fall theme.  The file includes everything you need to complete the stationery box, along with files for cards and tags.

In the cut files, you will find two small rectangles and a base piece that has three stacked rectangles with tabs.  These are used to assemble the lid for the stationery box.  Before you assemble the lid, adhere the two small pattern pieces to the small cardstock rectangles as shown.  Next, fold along all of the score lines and add adhesive to the tabs of the lid base.  The small rectangle pieces will be used to form the sides of the box lid and hold everything together.  (Although not shown in the picture, I recommend attaching the other pattern pieces to your box lid before you assemble the lid. You should have three patterned rectangle pieces: two for the front and back,  and one, slightly narrower piece, for the top of the lid.)

To assemble the lid, you will fold along the score lines and attach the tabs to the sides of the small rectangle pieces.   Make sure your rectangle is lined up correctly with the longer sides attaching to the longer tabs of the lid’s base.  I recommend starting from the outside and working your way in as shown in the image below.

To assemble each of the base pieces, fold along the score lines and add adhesive tape to the tabs.  Fold in the tabs to create a box shape.  The four base pieces will be used to form individual boxes that will create sections inside the stationery box.  You will create two boxes for tags, one for cards, and one for envelopes.  The tag and card boxes will be taller in the back than in the front when assembled (see example below).  The envelope box will be the same height in the front and the back.  The image below shows one of the tag boxes with adhesive tape on the tabs and one assembled.  Adhere the small tabs first to create a base for your box.  Then fold and adhere the front to complete the box.

To assemble the stationery box, you will glue the base pieces together.  First, adhere the card box to the envelope box with the shorter side of the card box in front.  Next, add the tag boxes to the front of the card box, with the shorter sides of the tags boxes in the front.  The image below shows the stationery box with one of the tag boxes adhered to the rest of the stationery box.

Once you have joined all of the individual boxes, you will use the remaining cardstock pieces to hide the joints of your assembled box pieces.  There are two rectangles, one for the front and one for the bottom.  In addition, there are two staircase pieces that will be used on the sides of the stationery box. Using the adhesive of your choice, attach the cardstock pieces to the appropriate side of the box.

Finally, decorate the outside of your box.  Then add cards, envelopes, and tags to the inside.

Don’t forget you can make multiples of the Stationery Box 2 to hold cards for different occasions. Plus, you can make one, fill it with handmade cards and tags, and give it away as a gift.  Well, that’s all for me today.  I am off to make some cute fall-themed cards and tags to fill up my box:)

Until next time,

Michelle

 

Swimming Through the Summer

Hi there paper crafting friends!  It’s Michelle Starcher, aka the Bookish Designer, popping in on the blog to share the shadow box I made using Lori’s Slice of Summer collection by Echo Park Paper Co. I love all of the different shadow box cards available in Lori’s shop. There are so many great summer variations, including the Shadow Box Card Swimsuits (SVG, Silhouette).

I assembled the shadow box card using the new and easy method. In the new shadow box design, the card base has side slits and the inserts easily lock in place with tabs. When you are assembling the Shadow Box Card Swimsuits, insert the Cloud slide in the back.  The sun goes in the middle and the grass slide goes in the front. Be sure to watch Lori’s “Shadow Box Card” video tutorial for assembly instructions.

Lori has so many wonderful summer-inspired files available in the shop, and I know you will find something you can’t live without. Happy crafting!

Until next time,

Michelle

Star Spangled Box Card Truck Tutorial

Hi there paper crafting friends!  It’s Michelle Starcher, aka the Bookish Designer, hopping onto the blog to walk you through the steps to create Lori’s XL Box Card Truck July 4 (SVGSilhouette).  This little truck can be made large enough to use as a table decoration or home décor item. It’s perfect for your upcoming 4th of July cookout! In this photo tutorial, I will break down the steps to create the XL Box Card Truck July 4.

After cutting all of your pieces, sort them into stacks to make it easier when assembling the pieces.  Once you have sorted your pieces, attach the first layer of pieces to the truck frame as pictured below. You will need to attach the light blue truck front before adding the silver door handle and mirror.  I assembled the tires on the black circles before adding them to the truck frame.  Don’t forget to add the three white stars to the door of the truck.

Next, you will add the bumpers, stripes, and a few extra details. You will want to attach the blue bumper to the front of the truck before you add the three small silver accents.  In addition, you need to add the red bumper to the back of the truck before you add the white and gray stripes.  The gray stripes create a shadow effect on the truck bed.  When I attached the white stripes to the bed of the first truck, I used the long white stripe to help me with placement.  This made it easier to line up my stripes.   I used the first truck bed as my guide on the second one.

Next, I attached my stars to the inner card piece as shown.  Add adhesive to the tabs on each end.

Once all of your truck beds are decorated, you are ready to assemble your 3D truck.  You should have a blue rectangle with two scored tabs.  Add adhesive tape to each tab, and then line up the front panel with the pre-cut guidelines on the sides of the truck and adhere as shown in the bottom photo.  Use the stripe pattern on the back of the truck bed to replicate the pattern on the red connecting piece.  Attach the license plate and July 4 letters.  (Mine didn’t turn out so well, so I replaced them with a sticker.)  Add adhesive to the two tabs of the red connecting piece and attach as shown in the bottom photo.

 

You last step is to connect all of the pieces.  You will add your middle truck piece to the connecting blue and red pieces.  The attach the connecting pieces to the other truck piece to close the card.

You make the XL Box Card Truck July 4 (SVGSilhouette) today, so that it will be ready for your cookout this weekend.  If you are looking for some additional 4th of July decorations, be sure to check out the 4th of July Project Bundle that includes this truck plus several other patriotic projects.

 

Until next time,

Michelle

Memorial Day Window Box with Handle

Hi there paper crafting friends!  It’s Michelle Starcher, aka the Bookish Designer, popping in on the blog to share the gift box I made using Lori’s America collection by Echo Park Paper Co. I love all of the different boxes and gift ideas available in Lori’s shop, and I eagerly watch my inbox on Tuesdays to see what new products are hitting the store.  A couple of weeks ago, Lori debuted a brand new collection of awesome gift boxes, and I knew I had to have them all.

 

Today, I am sharing the Window Box with Handle (SVG, Silhouette) I made as a gift box for those attending my Memorial Day cookout.  I wanted to make the box a little larger than the original file, so I enlarged it to approximately 13.4″ by 14.6″.  If you are going to resize one of Lori’s files, make sure you all of the pieces are still grouped or selected before you adjust the size uniformly by dragging the corner of the grouped pieces.  This will keep the ratio the same for all of the pieces.

Once I resized the file, I sent it to my Silhouette Cameo to cut.  I inked the edges of the pattern paper before I adhered them to the box panels.  Once all of my pattern pieces were in place, I added the clear plastic acetate to the box to create the window.  (For some reason, my Cameo didn’t like cutting the acetate, so I ended up cutting that piece using my paper trimmer instead.). Once all of the pieces were in place, I assembled the box, which turned out pretty darn cute.

Lori has so many wonderful gift boxes available in the shop, and I know you will find something you can’t live without.

Until next time,

Michelle

Our Wedding Gatefold Easel Card

Hi there paper crafting friends!  It’s Michelle Starcher, aka the Bookish Designer, popping in on the blog to share the Congrats on your Wedding card I made using Lori’s Our Wedding collection by Echo Park Paper Co. I love seeing the new stuff Lori has in the shop each week, but I also enjoy doing a deep dive into past products.  Last week, I spent some time looking through all of the card options available in the shop, and I found several files that I just couldn’t live without including the Gatefold Easel Card (SVGSilhouette).

One thing I really love about this card is the band that holds the card closed.  It’s a small detail, but it adds a little something extra to the card.  You can use it in place of an envelope to address the card or add an embellishment to the front of the card like I did.

Another feature of the Gatefold Easel Card that I love is how it looks when opened.  This is a card that was meant to be on display.  In my example, I used a sentiment from the Our Wedding Ephemera as the easel stop.  I inked the sentiment and then used adhesive foam to give it the extra dimension to act hold the main card in place.  Then I attached the bride and groom element card from the Our Wedding Collection to the front. Such a beautiful reminder of the couple’s special day!

Lori has so many wonderful cards available in the shop, and I know you will find something you can’t live without.  With so many options, it’s easy to add several new card files to your collection.  The hard part may be picking which one to make first!

Until next time,

Michelle