Jewelry Gift Box Template
I ran out of jewelry gift boxes, you know the ones with the white cotton lining, just after Christmas and I needed more for my little home grown business. Yet, I didn’t want to order another case of little boxes made in China given my recent rants. While not expensive at $29.00 + shipping for a case of 100, I want to put my money where my mouth is so I started searching the Internet for recycled boxes and came up empty handed. I then spied my recycle bin and realized that all the cardboard waiting to be trekked outside to the bin could come in handy. I searched the Internet for gift box templates instead. Surely someone sells these things online - I was willing to pay too. But, lo and behold, Mirk Wood Designs offers 71 free templates for free from her website. That’s generous, if you ask me! I downloaded one that I thought might be the right size and got to work.
It’s a beautiful box, but required an awkward amount of cardboard to make, so I decided to try my hand at making a smaller box that would hold up under USPS handling in a bubble envelope. I’m proud to say, that after 3 failed attempts, I got the dimensions just right and have a gift box that took me all of 3 minutes and 54 seconds to cut, glue and assemble (after my initial try of course).
It’s the perfect size for sending out jewelry or other small items and can be tinkered with to get the right sized box. I decided to share the template with anyone who wants to use it and who has the energy and desire to upcycle. Coming next is a “0″ sized (6″ x 10″) mailer made from plastic grocery bags. (I’m not joking.)
Here are the tools that you need and the cost associated with each item, in the event that you don’t have any of these items at home:
- 18″ x 24″ self healing cutting mat with measurement grid (you could use a smaller one - but what if you want to make a larger box?) cost: $22.99
- X-Acto Knife cost: $2.84
- 24″ metal ruler cost: $9.95
- Glue - I prefer Sobo Craft Glue cost: $3.27
- Paintbrush to apply glue - you could get away without this, but I wanted to control the application of glue cost: $2.00
- cardboard, cereal boxes, chip board, etc. cost: free
- Time per box = 3 minutes 54 seconds
These are my staples and I use them all of the time for other stuff including clay.
For a 3″ x 2″ x 1″ jewelry gift box, cut out a 5″ x 7″ piece of cardboard using the grid of the cutting mat and the metal ruler as your guide. In my case, I really liked the silver box that my daughter’s bike helmet came in. On a side note, her helmet was “designed in the United States and made in China”.
After scoring and cutting according to the template at the bottom of this post, remove the 2 rectangles to begin finishing the box. At this point, you should also fold all the flaps where you’ve scored to make assembly easier.
Sobo Glue is my choice for everyday basic glue - though others will work too.
Apply glue to the little flaps of box using a paint brush. Be generous, but not sloppy.
Use your finger to attach the flaps to the box and hold as long as necessary to ensure a bond.
Voilà ! You have made your jewelry gift box and can decorate as you see fit.
Another option is to plan to cut the cardboard for your box based on the design on the outside of the box - in this case - I wanted to highlight the “recycle” logo.
You can also alter the template to suit your needs. I made a 2″ x 2″ x 1″ ring or earring sized box for fun.
This is what is left of my original double box - which I can now put in the recycle bin.
I made 10 boxes, and had 3 failed ones out of one box for a time investment of about 35 minutes.
If you don’t like the design on the outside of the box, turn the inside outside and wrap with raffia for a natural look.
I also made one from a Cheerio’s box that I thought would be ugly, but once made, I really liked the graphics. So, experiment and have fun while helping out your wallet and the environment just a little bit the next time you need a gift box.
Cheers,
Cynthia
P.S. I’ve temporarily stepped off my soap box - but have some new ideas and insights to share at a later date. I’ve appreciated everyone’s comments both pro and con!
