The Whopper of a Box Tutorial

Last Sunday I shared a huge box that I had made for some Vintage Glass Bottles I’d bought from Hovercraft.  I named this box ‘The Whopper of a box‘ as it’s the biggest box I’ve made, it measures 12″ (h) x 3-1/8″ (w) x 3-1/8″ (d), it also holds a 75cl bottle of wine.

Within a few hours of the post being published several ladies had left lovely comments about the box and they all asked if I would do a tutorial.

I only took one photo while I was making the box so Monday morning I went into my craftroom to make another box and photograph the process for the tutorial.  As I have several birthdays coming up I ended up making 3 boxes on Monday.

This is a very in-depth tutorial to help crafters with any level of experience.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Important

Please read the whole tutorial before making the box.

If you would like to see larger versions of the photo’s in today’s tutorial I have added a gallery at the bottom of this post, click on an image to enlarge it.

* I have dyscalculia and there are so many cutting and scoring measurements in this tutorial I would suggest making one with cheap cardstock first before using your best cardstock.*

If you CASE this project (Copy And Share Everything) please include my name and a link to my website and this blog post.

Legal stuff: This tutorial is the property of Diane Copus-Read and is for Personal Use only.   No part of this tutorial may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means including photocopying or other electronic or mechanical methods, without prior written permission of the publisher.  For permission requests contact me at LadyDeeCrafts@outlook.com 

Box Base

To be able to make the box 12″ tall I made a box that the side panels attach too.

Cardstock:- I cut my cardstock to a smidge under 5-1/8″ x 5-1/8″.

Score at 1″ on all 4 sides then fold and burnish all the scorelines.

Cut up to the scoreline and notch all 4 tabs.

Add strong adhesive of your choice to the 4 tabs.  I used Tear & Tape but you could use Fast Fuse or a strong liquid glue.

After I remove the liner of the tape I always add a bit of liquid glue it gives ‘wriggle time’ and extra strength.

Adhere all 4 tabs to the inside of the box.

Side Panels

For the sides of the box you will need 2 sheets of 12″ x 12″ cardstock.

Cut 1 piece of 12″ cardstock to 9-7/8″ x 12″.  Score the short side at 3-1/8″, 6-1/4″ and 9-3/8″.

Cut the other piece of 12″ cardstock to 3-5/8″ x 12″.  Score the short side at 3-1/8″.

Fold and burnish all the scorelines.

With the back of the cardstock facing up make sure both tabs are on the same side.  In this photo both 1/2″ tabs are on the left-hand side.

It doesn’t matter if both tabs are on the left or the right but all the photo’s I took when putting the box together follow on from me having both tabs on the left.  I hope that makes sense.

Because of the size of this box I found it easier to add my layers of cardstock and DSP before adhering the box.

If it’s easier for you to add them after the box has been put together do what’s easiest for you.

Add strong adhesive the full length of the 1/2″ tabs on both piece of cardstock.

You will need to notch the top and bottom of these 2 tabs.

Add strong adhesive all around the box, as close to the top of the box as you can.

 I found the easiest way to adhere the sides is to start with the 2nd or 3rd panel.  I started with the 2nd panel from the end.  Peel of part of the tape liner from the box and the side panel.

I added some liquid glue then placed the box centrally on the panel.  I folded up the 2 sides to make sure the box was in the right place.

If using liquid glue you will need to hold the side panel against the box for a few minutes.

These are some photo’s taken at different angles

Adhere the next 2 panels, making sure to leave the panel with no tab until the very last.

To attach the final panel adhere the tab to the box base.

To make it easier for me to line the tab up properly I added some liquid glue onto the tear & tape on the tab then adhered.

The liquid glue gave me time to align everything rather than the instant bond of tear & tape.

The Lid

Cardstock: Cut cardstock a smidge under 5-1/4″ x 5-1/4″ score at 1″ on all 4 sides.

Cut up to the scoreline as shown in the box base photo above.

To get a good fit with the lid I adhered 2 of the tabs (where the pegs are) then placed the lid on the box and adhered the other 2 tabs.

Cardstock and DSP panels

The cardstock and DSP panels on both of these boxes were done in the same way and both have the same measurements.

For the original box I used the Petal Passion DSP and for this one I chose a beautiful Powder Pink and Whisper White floral design from the Whole Lot of Lovely DSP.  Both of these were non-directional, if your DSP has a directional pattern please bear this in mind when cutting your DSP.  This image below shows the cutting for a directional pattern.

DSP – 1 sheet of 12″ x 12″ DSP.

Cut your 12″ x 12″ sheet of DSP to 11-3/4″ (h) x 12″ (w).  With the 12″ side at the top of your trimmer cut 4 panels that are 2-7/8″ wide.  You will have 4 panels that measure 11-3/4″ x 2-7/8″

After cutting the 4 strips of DSP I numbered each piece.  In pencil I wrote 1 as close to the edge as I could and 2 towards the centre.  Do this for each strip of DSP.

Numbering them really helps when it comes to adhering everything.

To make the DSP go further I cut out a centre panel.

To cut the centre panel align the DSP to the 1cm-3/8″ on the right-hand side of your trimmer.

Before lowering the clear plastic arm align the point/notch of the trimmer blade at 1cm-3/8″ (in the UK we have cms on the arm of our trimmer).

Cut the DSP until you are 1cm-3/8″ from the bottom edge of the panel. Rotate and continue until you have cut all 4 sides.

When you have cut all 4 sides you will have a 2-1/8″ x 11″ centre panel and a 1cm-3/8″ frame.

If the trimmer hasn’t cut all the way to the cut line you can use your scissors to cut the last little bit.

You need to cut a centre panel for all 4 strips of DSP.

Cardstock Panels: 4 pieces of cardstock that measure 11-1/4″ x 2-3/8″

To adhere the cardstock panels I put the frame onto a large craft mat and used a fine tipped glue bottle that had Tombow multipurpose liquid glue in it.  Add the glue towards the inner edge of the frame (there is only 1/8″ on each side where the cardstock will attach to the frame) and adhere cardstock panel.   I then adhered the centre panel to the cardstock.

I wanted one of the box to be suitable for a male or female recipient so I chose a lovely Tranquil Tide design from the True Gentleman DSP and made the box out of the 12″ Tranquil Tide cardstock in the 2017/2019 In Colors 12″ cardstock pack.  I added Very Vanilla cardstock panels.

I chose another pretty design from the Whole Lot of Lovely DSP and made a Basic Black box. There are so many colours in this DSP but I decided to add Pear Pizzazz cardstock panels and I really like how it turned out.

UK A4 cardstock is just under 11-3/4″  so I kept the full length of the cardstock and cut 4 x 2-7/8″ wide panels.

The 4 DSP panels are: 11-1/2″ x 2-5/8″

***

I hope this in depth tutorial has been helpful.  Please let me know if you have any questions, you can leave them in a comment below or fill out the Contact Me Form at the bottom of this post and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

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*When designing a project or when I CASE a project I always use my cheap cardstock to make a prototype before making it with my Stampin’ Up! cardstock. I do check the measurements I add to my blog posts but when typing lots of measurements mistakes can be made. When making any project I recommend making it first with cheap cardstock before using your best cardstock.*