How to make a cardboard box with your own hands?

In any home you can find a variety of boxes and boxes. Such gizmos are often put on display, especially if they are made by hand or through the efforts of loved ones. To create something that is not only beautiful, but also useful, you need to include creativity, taste and a little effort.

Many consider the boxes to be knick-knacks that just take up space. They are actually pretty functional.

• They are often used for interior decoration. Moreover, if the style requires a large number of small details, you simply cannot do without caskets. In order for such decorations to be appropriate, you need to carefully work out their design.
• They help to keep order, to properly organize the storage of various things. The practicality of such a container is determined by its strength, size and shape.
• The fruits of your labor can be safely used as a gift. Moreover, such a present will appeal to both a very young girl and a rather adult woman. Moreover, the box, depending on its design and purpose, can be presented to a man. Sometimes people accumulate a lot of little things that just need to be placed in suitable boxes.

For beginners who are faced with the manufacture of boxes for the first time, you should pay attention to cardboard. It is no coincidence that this material is popular. Among the advantages of cardboard are:

• environmental friendliness;
• ease of handling;
• low cost;
• availability.

When making boxes, it is important to perform all actions in stages - this way the work will progress more smoothly and will not take too much time. The first step is to determine the shape and size. These parameters depend on the amount of material, placement and purpose. In addition, the degree of complexity must match the skill of the manufacturer. For beginners, simpler options are better suited:

• square;
• rectangular.

Next, you can try to make a round box or in the shape of a polyhedron. These are the most common and traditional varieties.

Since the cardboard is pretty good at cutting, bending and wrinkling, you can find more complex products in the form of a heart, a shell, a suitcase, a watch, and even a piano. In the same vein, you can perform a cache disguised as a book or the base of any statuette.

In addition, the box may have:

• concave or curved sides, cover;
• legs, handles, hinges, locks and other accessories;
• drawers.

Decorative boxes are intended for storage:

• of money;
• documents and photographs;
• jewelry and bijouterie;
• business cards and stationery;
• hours and much more.

The boxes can be both very tiny - up to 5-7 cm, and large - up to 20 cm or more. Small ones can be placed on small surfaces - open shelves, bedside tables, tables. Bulky ones take their place in the closet. In principle, their parameters are limited by the dimensions of the cardboard sheets.

Even at home, before starting work, you should prepare everything you need. If you do not take care of this in advance, you will have to interrupt in search of the necessary items or a trip to the store. Moreover, it is better to purchase all materials, especially for decoration, with a margin, otherwise something may not be enough, and this product may run out in the store.

The base for the box, that is, its bottom, side walls and lid, are made of cardboard. Much depends on its density. The denser, the harder it is to work, but the structure will be more durable. In stores you can find cardboard of different hardness, thickness, structure and type of coating. In addition, in your crafts, you can safely use boxes, covers and other pieces that have already been used. The appearance of the cardboard is unimportant if it is overlapped with a decorative layer on top.

At the initial stage of the cartoning, you need to draw and cut out all the necessary blanks. To do this, you will need the following items:

• pencil and ruler;
• stationery knife, as well as scissors of different sizes;
• falzbein is a tool necessary for smoothing, bending and other similar operations.

For gluing, both simple paste and any store glue suitable for paper products are suitable. To apply it, you will need brushes of different widths. The glue is applied from the middle to the edges and also smoothes the parts glued together later. Its amount should be dosed so that excess does not protrude from the seams. If they do appear, they should be removed with a napkin or sponge. In some cases, it is more convenient to use a glue gun or even tape (painting, double-sided). It is better to fasten the seams with additional clips, or place them under the press.

Having everything you need to make boxes, you can get to work. Since there are quite a few modifications of such boxes, you can consider several models of varying degrees of complexity.

The most common option is a rectangular box. The first step is drawing up a diagram. The appearance depends on its accuracy. Usually caskets are made with a hinged lid. In this case, you can get by with one large drawing. It is cut along the contour, bent along the dotted lines and glued at the junction.

If the cover is laid on, the details for the upper and lower parts are lined up and made separately. Such schemes are quite common, and the sizes in them can be changed, but the proportions must remain the same. The lid should be slightly wider, otherwise it simply won't fit on top.

Another common option is the heart box. It is quite simple to do it, the main thing is to act very carefully. Consider the progress of the work.

1. First you need to cut out two identical parts - the bottom and the lid.To do this, you can draw a symmetrical heart, or circle an object of a suitable shape.
2. Then the cardboard tape should be cut, the width of which will be equal to the height of the box, plus an increase in gluing (it must be cut in the form of a wide fringe or triangles). The length of the tape is equal to the edge of the heart or slightly less if there is an indent from the edge. You can take a long tape and cut it in the right place after trying on or already in the process of gluing.
3. The toothed part of the sidewall must be bent, and you can start gluing. The teeth can be slightly displaced - this will allow the side piece to be placed in the desired position. You can glue one half first, and then the other, but then you have to work on the joints.
4. Then you should wait until it is completely dry, and you can start gluing the lid. As soon as the whole structure dries well, you can decorate it to your liking.

Book boxes are of particular interest. Of course, it can be made from a suitable book size. However, this method is by no means the easiest, and it is a pity to spoil the real book. Therefore, it is better to make it out of cardboard.

• First you need to make the cover (bottom and lid). You will need very thick cardboard for it. You can use multiple layers of plain or thick corrugated. A printed image is glued onto the blank, and the back side is decorated.
• After the parts have been glued and dried, grab the middle part. Pages can be drawn on the sides, the sheets can be glued together tightly or in the form of an accordion. To prevent the book from looking too new, the pages are artificially aged.

There are quite a few ways to decorate a box, and here, again, you need to focus on your capabilities. A simple staining will help to significantly improve the appearance of the glued base for the box. To do this, you need to perform several steps.

• Glue folds, joints and gluing seams with masking tape.
• Apply a primer to all external sides. Smooth cardboard requires only one layer. If there are irregularities, the primer will have to be applied several times after the previous layer has completely dried.
• The dried primer should be sanded with sandpaper, and you can start painting. A more even layer is obtained from a spray can, but you can use a regular brush.

In addition to monochromatic staining, various techniques are used, including painting. An alternative method is wrapping with cloth or paper. On a paper or fabric canvas, it is necessary to make a pattern with allowances - it will look like a drawing of a box. If you are taking a fabric, it is better to apply glue both to it and to the base. After gluing, the fabric should be smoothed well to expel air.

Another way of decorating is decoupage, so you can arrange a painted or pasted box.

• A suitable image is selected from a decoupage card, napkin or any printed edition. A suitable size picture can be used in full or cut out the desired part. With multi-layer napkins, the top layer is peeled off.
• The image is overlaid in the right place and carefully covered with glue, while avoiding wrinkles, tears and bubbles.
• After drying, the surface can be finalized - more carefully draw some details, fill in the surrounding background. Finally, a layer of varnish is applied.

For information on how to make a cardboard box, see the next video.