By Show Me Step by StepPublished Updated
Based on a video by Scrapbook.com.
An explosion box looks like a small gift box. Lift the lid and the walls fall open, then a second box falls open inside it, then a third. Every panel can hold a photo, a note or a little treat. Channin Pelletier shows the whole build for Scrapbook.com with three layers and three lids, all cut from 12x12 paper with a scoring board and a trimmer.
Once you know the measurements, each layer takes about ten minutes. No die cutting machine needed.
Each layer is a square of paper scored a third of the way in from every side, so the middle panel becomes the floor and the outer panels become the walls. Each lid is a square scored at 1 inch on all four sides.
The pattern behind the numbers: each lid is 2 1/8 inches bigger than the box panel it covers. That leaves 1/8 inch of wiggle room so the lid slides on without crushing the walls. Use the same rule to make a bigger or smaller box.
Double-sided patterned paper is the secret. The outside of the box shows one pattern and the inside of every wall shows the other, so the box looks finished from both sides before you add a thing. Pick a medium weight paper or light cardstock, around 65 to 80 lb. Thin paper will not hold the walls up. Very heavy cardstock cracks along the folds. Channin uses one collection for every layer so the colours tie together.
Save the corner squares you cut off. They are the right size to mat photos and sentiments later.
A small square die set is handy here. Because every panel is square, a nesting square die cuts photos and mats that sit centred on each wall.
An explosion box makes a good birthday card, anniversary gift or Mother's Day surprise. It also suits a family reunion keepsake, like Channin's. A grandchild can help pick the photos and write the notes. Write the name on the outer lid so it looks like a wrapped present on the table.
If the walls flop outward, crease every score line harder with a bone folder. If the lid will not fit, the box walls are leaning in. Check that each layer was glued in the centre of the one below. If a lid is loose, your lid square was cut a little big; trim 1/16 inch off and score again.
Want more fun folds? Try a pop up card or a waterfall card. For a lidded box with no glue, see how to fold an origami box. Have more photos than walls? Make a mini scrapbook album.
10 steps · about 19 minutes.Check off each step as you go and your progress saves automatically.
Start with a 12 x 12 sheet of double-sided paper. If yours has a printed strip along one edge, trim it off so you have a true square. Set the paper into the corner of your scoring board and score at 4 inches all the way across. Turn the sheet a quarter turn and score at 4 again. Repeat until all four sides are scored and you can see a grid of nine squares.
Tip
Always push the paper snug into the top corner of the board before each score.
Now cut away the four corner squares so the sheet becomes a plus shape. Line a score line up under the trimmer blade and cut only to the point where it meets the crossing score line, 4 inches in. Slide the paper and cut the other line on that side, then turn the sheet and repeat. Scissors work too. Keep the corner squares for matting photos later.
Tip
Stop the blade right at the crossing line. Cutting past it slices into the floor.
For the first lid, cut a square of the same paper to 6 1/8 inches. Matching the box makes it look like a wrapped present, but any paper or plain cardstock works. Set the square into the corner of the scoring board and score at 1 inch. Turn and repeat on all four sides. You should see two score lines along every edge.
Tip
Lid size is the box panel plus 2 1/8 inches, so you can scale this to any box.
Hold the lid square with one side facing you. Cut up the right-hand score line only, and stop where it meets the crossing score line. Leave the left-hand line alone. Turn the square and do the same on the next side, always cutting the right-hand line. After four cuts you have four small tabs, one at each corner.
Tip
Cutting the same side every time keeps all the tabs folding the same way.
Crease all the lid score lines with a bone folder. Cut a strip of 1/4 inch double-sided tape about an inch long and press it onto the outside edge of a tab, right beside your cut. Peel the backing, lift the side up and tuck the tab behind the neighbouring wall. Press to hold. Repeat on the other three corners and the lid is done.
Tip
Check that the pretty side of the lid faces out before you add the tape.
Go back to the plus-shaped base and run the bone folder hard along the four score lines around the centre square. These folds are what hold the walls up. Lift all four walls together and slide the lid on to check the fit. That is your first layer. Open it flat again before you make the next one.
Tip
A firm crease now saves walls that flop open later.
The second layer is a little smaller so it nests inside the first. Trim a 12 x 12 sheet to 11 1/4 inches square. Score at 3 3/4 inches on all four sides, then cut out the four corners the same way as before. Its lid is a 5 7/8 inch square, scored at 1 inch, snipped, taped and folded like the first lid.
Tip
Try a contrasting pattern here. Each layer shows when the box opens.
The third and smallest layer starts as a 10 1/2 inch square. Score at 3 1/2 inches on all four sides and remove the corners on the trimmer, stopping each cut where the score lines cross. The last lid is a 5 5/8 inch square scored at 1 inch. Crease every fold well. This layer holds the centre treat or the final photo.
Tip
Stack all three bases to check each one is a little smaller than the last.
Lay the largest layer flat. Run a tape runner over the centre square of the second layer's underside. Gather its walls up so you can see the middle, centre it on the first layer and press down. Do the same with the smallest layer on top of the second. Glue only the centre squares so every wall can still fall open.
Tip
Lift the walls while you place each layer. It is much easier to centre that way.
Now decorate. Every panel is square, so a set of nesting square dies cuts photos and mats that fit. Add photos to the inside of the walls, or both sides for up to eight per layer. Fussy cut a few titles and sentiments and lift them on foam dots. Pop a treat or gift card in the centre, close the walls and put on the lids.
Tip
Plan the photo order so the best one waits in the smallest box.
Keep going
How to Make a Stepper Card
9 steps · about 9 minutes
How to Make an Explosion Box Card
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Gorilla
Gorilla Dual-Temp Full-Size Hot Glue Gun
Dual-temp so it handles delicate florals and heavy materials alike. A precise nozzle and built-in stand make it the everyday craft-table gun.
OLFA
OLFA 18" x 24" Self-Healing Cutting Mat
The pro-standard cutting surface. Gridlines for square cuts, self-healing so blades never leave grooves, and big enough for paper, fabric, and leather.
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