Hi, Crafty Friends!! I have the cutest gift box for you that holds a surprise inside! The special birthday person is sure to be wowed when they open this amazing box. In the cake, you can store some small sweet treats for an extra surprise! Let's get started...
Materials:
- Cardstock Warehouse cardstock papers:
- Cut File: Birthday Present Explosion Box (Cricut Design Space)
- Cricut Cutting Machine
- Bearly Art® Glue
- Pen or Round Tool (to curve paper, optional)
Start by opening the Design Space project above and cutting all of your pieces.
*One thing to take note of: there is a two-tier cake in the file, however, in my finished project I only did one tier. I used 105 lb. paper and because the cakes are small, the paper was creasing and not allowing the piece to be as circular as it should be. I’d recommend using 66lb-83lb cardstock from either the Materica, Lessebo, or Woodstock lines to make the most perfectly round cakes.
Ok, back to creating this gorgeous box. I paired up each of the side panels and smaller pieces that belonged together. I also set aside the pieces that were just for the cakes, and the base of the box.
Starting with the purple squares, you’ll notice each set has a corresponding icon, one with a balloon and one with a gift box. You’ll want to glue those layers together to create two panels. We’ll grab the triangle pieces and do the same. Next, we’ll add our balloon layers and glue together the gift box for the panels as well.
Next, grab the piece for the lid of the box and fold along the scored lines. With the small tabs placed inside, we’ll glue them to create the rectangular lid.
Next, I put together the bottom of the box so I can get my panels glued down. To do this, I folded along the score lines and then glued down the triangle flaps to create an envelope. Once those were dried, I added all the panels inside. You can also grab the wavy cake board and glue it inside the center as well.
As we move on to assembling our cakes, remember you’ll have to repeat your steps for each tier.
I started by gluing the “frosting" design onto the circles. These will be the top of the tiers. After that was completed, I glued together the candle pieces. You’ll notice a score line on the bottom of the two pink candle pieces. Those will point down and will be glued into and under the circle with the cutout so that the candle sits perfectly inside. The flame is sandwiched between the two pink candle pieces facing the opposite direction of the tabs.
Now, let's work on the tiers. For my top tier, I glued down the white frosting layer for the small cake so that the scored tabs lay opposite the coral ones. Then, I added glue to the inside of the tabs a few pieces at a time and glued the circle inside until it was complete. Again, you’ll notice a little creasing here, but with a lighter paper weight, you won't have any creasing. You can also use a pen or weeding tool to round out the paper and give it a curve. Once you have it closed up on the side, you can fold down the white tabs and glue those to the top piece we decorated earlier. Repeat the steps for the larger cake tier.
If you want your larger tier on the bottom to open like a gift box, you will assemble it a bit differently. Attach the tabs for the frosting piece to the strip of Coral that has no tabs. Fold the white frosting tabs down and glue the decorated circle to the top. This will be the lid. Then, use the Coral strip with the tabs and the Coral circle to create the bottom half of the tier box. You can now attach the smaller tier to the top of the lid of the bottom tier, and that whole section will lift off like a lid and reveal a surprise inside! I chose to leave this whole tier off.
Next, I glued my die cut balloons and gift inside the box on their respective panels, and placed the note cards inside the pockets. After closing the bottom of the box and placing the lid on top, it’s time to add our ribbon and bow.
I had a similar issue with the bow, creating a nice curve without a crease, so a lighter paper would work best here also. After the bow was glued, I took the longer side of the ribbon strip and glued it directly on the lid, making a cross sign. Once the strips were dried and in place, I added the smaller strips all around the box, lining them up with where the lid pieces were.
Now your box is ready to WOW your friend, family member, or co-worker! Don't forget to write a nice note on the cards inside the pocket, or even use one of the pockets as a gift card holder. If you wanted to personalize this project even more, you could swap out the die cut images on the flaps for pictures of you and the special birthday person!
I hope this project inspired you to Make Something Beautiful®!
Follow me at @lacedesignsstudio_ for more party and paper decor ideas, and share your creations with Cardstock Warehouse on Facebook and Instagram! Tag your projects with #cardstockwarehouse to be featured on our page!
Happy Crafting!
Amanda (@lacedesignsstudio_)