Explosion Box with a Twist Part II

So finally, here are the details of the explosion box with a twist, as found here.

Recipe:

Green Cardstock: DCWV Prints for the Year Ultimate Stack
Light Blue Cardstock: DCWV The Christmas and Winter Combo Cardstock Stack
Dark Blue Cardstock: Best Occasions

Green Patterned Paper: DCWV Prints for the Year Ultimate Stack
Blue Patterned Paper: DCWV Holiday Collection The Christmas Stack

Cricut Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More cartridge

Cricut Elegant Cakes cartridge

Roses embellishment: part of my stash, not sure of manufacturer

Ribbon: from Joann's

Best Blossoms and Flower Lines Stampin' UP! stamp sets

Stampin' UP! Brilliant Blue ink

Glue Dots

Zig 2-way glue pen

ATG

For the box base, I scored one 12x12 sheet of paper at 4" and 8".  Then I turned it 90 degrees and scored again.  You will have a 3x3 grid of 4" squares.  I then scored the corner squares diagonally, to help with the folding.

I then cut (4) 3" squares of the green patterned paper and cut them in half to make the triangles. I taped them to the corners of the base paper, eyeballing the distance between the two triangles and between the triangle and the edge of the base paper.

The tags and tag holders were designed with the Cricut Design Studio software.  I used the Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More cartridge.  For the tags, I cut the blue cardstock using the scallop tag cut and the blackout feature, since I didn't want a hole in the tag.  I started with the tag set at 3 1/2" This resulted in a skinny tag.  I then stretched it so that its width was 3".

For the tag holders, I used the tag pocket 1 cut, again using the blackout feature. I started with the pocket set at 6 3/4" inches.  I needed to stretch it to accomodate the wide tag.  I also wanted to elongate it in order to have an overlap with the bottom of the box.  There is 3/8" of the tag holder that is attached to the bottom of the box, and then covered by the blue square.  This way, the tag holders are secured to the bottom, allowing for the sides of the box to be used for pictures or journaling, but the attachment is covered to give it a clean look.

The tag holders ended up measuring 4 1/4" by 7 1/2".  Since I did not use 2-sided paper I ended up with the inside of the holders being white.  So I cut tags that were the same dimension as the tag holders and then used scissors to cut just the top scalloped part off.  I then taped the scallop on the inside of the tag holder.  While the pattern did not line up exactly, it came very close, and is really not noticeable once the blue tags were inserted.  I then scored the bottom at 3/8" and attached them to the bottom. 

I cut a 4"x4" blue square and attached it to the bottom of the box.  My mistake was that I didn't stamp it before I attached it.  I knew I wanted to stamp something on it, but hadn't decided what.  My crafting got ahead of my brain and I went ahead and assembled the box without the stamp.  Luckily, the box folds out pretty flat, so doing the stamping wasn't too much of a problem, but I would definitely stamp before assembling it next time!  I used 3 different stamps to create the rose.  The leaves were from the Best Blossoms set.  I didn't ink the very top leaf of this stamp.  I then used the stem stamp from the same set to extend the stem a bit.  And finally the rose came from the Flower Lines set.

For the decoration on the outside of the box, I used the Cricut Elegant Cake cartridge.  I cut (4) of the accent5 images at 3".  I used the light blue cardstock for the base cuts and the dark blue for the shift key layers.  I assembled them with my Zig 2-way glue pen and attached them to the box sides.

The box base is now complete.  Just tuck in the corners and you're set!

To create the top of the box, I started with an 8"x8" sheet of cardstock.  I scored it on all sides at 3/4" and at 1 3/4".  I trimmed the corners off (a small 3/4" x 3/4" square) so they wouldn't become too bulky.  I folded at the 3/4" score lines and then folded again at the 1 3/4" score lines.  This double folding gives the box top a finished edge.  I taped down the edges of the box top.  I didn't tape down the first fold at the 3/4" score lines, but doing so will give the top a little more of a secure hold.  I folded the corners in (the same as for the box) and taped them down.  I used paper clips to secure them until my adhesive set. 

I used my ATG to put adhesive on the back of the ribbon and attached it to the top.  Attaching the roses to the top was a little bit harder, as they didn't have a solid backing to them, just a bunch of floral wires wrapped together.  I thought a hot glue gun might be needed here, but I made do with some glue dots I had.  I just put them anywhere I could attach them and kind of stuffed them into the nooks and crannies of the wires.  They were then placed on the box top.  Again, this was something I should have done before I folded the box top, but I wasn't originally planning to use the roses or the ribbon.  I had intended to put a bow on the top, but I couldn't get my ribbon to cooperate with making a bow, so I substituted the roses and used a different ribbon to coordinate.  I like the way they look, but they don't exactly match the blue of the side decorations.

Place the top on the box base and there you have it, my version of the explosion box, with a twist!




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