www.CraftersCompanion.com

Instruction Sheet Custom Bon-Bon Boxes

The key thing to remember when creating a custom Bon-Bon Box is that we will be creating 9 squares of exactly the same size. You can start with any size paper to apply these directions. I’ve started with a 12” x 12” sheet of scrapbook paper in this example. You will want to be working on the box making portion of the Ultimate Crafter’s Companion tool and putting your paper up against the side labeled “Box Lid”.

- Instructions by Gary Barbee

Getting StartedThe first thing we’ll need to figure out is what size bon-bon box you would like to create. The easiest box to make is a cube and is, but as you get a little more experienced you can play around with odd shaped boxes as an alternative.

Using these supplied instructions you can create explosion boxes as small as a 1” cube all the way up to a 3 1/2” cube in 1/2” increments. We will be making a 2” cube bon-bon box in this instruction example.

We will be using the “Box Lid” portion on the box making side of the Ultimate Crafter’s Companion Tool. See picture to the right. If you were to measure the spacing between each of these lines, you would notice that they are exactly 1/2” from each other and exactly 1/2” from the edge. This will be impor-tant to know as we decide which line to use when scoring our box and matching lid. See example to the right. with measure-ments shown for each score line.

Okay, now that we have that under our belt, we can begin to create our box.

Starting Cardstock SizeNow that you know what size box you want to create, here’s how you figure out what size cardstock to start with. It’s really quite easy.To figure out the starting cardstock size just take the size box you want to make and multiply this number by 3. So, if you want to make a 2” cube box you would start with a piece of cardstock that is 6” Square (2” x 3 = 6”). This is the size bon-bon box we’ll be making today.

To simplify this even more I’ve made a chart to the right.

Finished Box Size Starting Cardstock Size 1” 3” 1 1/2” 4 1/2” 2” 6” 2 1/2” 7 1/2” 3” 9” 3 1/2’ 10 1/2”

www.CraftersCompanion.com

Step 1We will be making a 2” cube bon-bon box and are therefore starting with a piece of card-stock that is 6” Square. We determined this size by using our rule of tripling the measure-ment of our finished box size (2 inch x 3 = 6 inches).

Step 2Since we are making a 2” cubed bon-bon box, we will now need to score our cardstock so that we end up with 9 equal sections (2” per section).To do this, line up your piece of cardstock up against the top of the board labeled “Box Lid” and score using the 4th line down. The 4th line down is exactly 2” from the edge of the board (1/2” x 4 = 2”). Score the same line on all 4 sides of your paper.

Step 3Your piece of cardstock should now look exactly like the picture to the right, comprised of 9 sections, similar to a tic-tac-toe board.

Step 4Score lines from each of the inside corners to the outside corners of your cardstock as shown in 4A. Your finished piece should look like the finished picture in 4B.Fold in each of the corners as shown in 4C.Your finished bon-bon box should now look like the example in 4D.

4A

4B 4C 4D

www.CraftersCompanion.com

Step 5To figure out the size of your lid, just measure the bottom of your box, which if done cor-rectly should measure 2”. This means we will need to make a lid that ends up being 2” square. You will also need to decide how far down you want your lid to hang. If you want your lid to hang 1” down as in my example here, then you will need to add this to the size cardstock you will need to start as well as a little extra room so your lid will fit properly over the top of your box. I usually allow an extra 1/16” of an inch. Here’s a simple formula for you to use when making a lid to fit a cube sized box.(Size of your box base) + 1/16” + (depth of your lid x 2) = Starting Cardstock Size SquareHere’s what our formula looks like in action:2” + 1/16” + (1” x 2”) = 4 1/16” Square

Step 6Taking our 4 1/16” square piece of cardstock, we will now need to score the lines to define the depth of our lid. Because we have already determined the depth of our lid in figuring out what cardstock size to start with we know that it will be 1 inch deep.Score the 2nd line down on the “Box Lid’ portion of the board on all 4 sides of your card-stock. We know it’s the 2nd line down because each line represents 1/2” in measure-ment and therefore 2 lines down equals 1 inch.

Step 7Your piece of cardstock should now look like the example to the right.Follow the rest of the directions in your instruction booklet to finish off your lid.

Once you’ve finished your lid you will fold in the sides of your box and put the lid over top.

Final Note

To make bon-bon boxes bigger than what I’ve detailed previously you will still need to follow the basic rule of tripling the finished cube size of your box (ie. To make a 4” cube box you need to start with a piece of cardstock that is 12” Square (4 inches x 3 = 12 inches)). The next all important step is to make sure that a scoreline exists on the board to score the dimension in “Step 2” of these directions. In the case of a 4” box, you would use the line labeled “Half-Fold 8x8” on the card making side of the board.Here’s a chart for some additional sizes and the proper scoreline to use:

Box Size Cardstock Size to Start Scoreline to use in Step 24” Cube 12” Square Half-Fold 8x8 cardmaking Side of board5 1/2” Cube 16 1/2” Square Half-Fold US Letter cardmaking Side of board6’ Cube 18” Square Half-Fold 12x12 cardmaking Side of board