How to make a box and lid for anything

This post is not intended to give you a template to make a box (if you want to do that there are tons of great ones out there in internet land), but to describe how to make the perfect shaped box and lid for any object you like.  You will need some scrap paper, a ruler, pencil, sharp knife and the object you want to make the box for.  You may also like something to line your box with- in this tutorial I use sticky backed felt.

First step is to work out what size box your object is going to need.  I'm making a giftbox for the stamp paper mache plate I made a few weeks ago.  The one on the right (the one on the left has gone walkabout.  It's amazing how a small room can have so many black holes in it...)  You need to have a rough idea of the dimensions of the object to the highest, widest and length...est longest point (it's been a long day!).   Round UP to the nearest centimeter (or more if you want a bit more space around the object or if you have a very thick lining.)  For my box, I decided to have it 5 cm high and 11 cm square.

Now on your piece of scrap paper, measure from the corner along one length of the paper to the height length (5cm in my case).  Make a mark.  Then measure from this point the length of your box (11 cm).  Make a mark.  Then measure the height length again and make a mark.  Do the same thing on opposite end of the paper.  Rule a line between each mark- you should have something that looks a bit like this

H= height of finished box, L= length of finished box

Now do the same thing for the other side so you end up with something like this:

Cut away the excess paper, leaving you just the area you marked out:

Next step is to mark out the tabs to hold your box together.  Where they go doesn't matter too much provided that there is a tab for each corner of your box.  Mark out your tabs and then cut away the excess paper to leave you with your template.

Fold your template along the pencil lines and test your box with your object to ensure that it is the right size.  When you are happy with your template, use it to cut out your box material.

Here's my paper template against my box paper

When your box paper is cut out, again fold it where your pencil lines were on your template.  You may find it easier to fold if you first score the fold lines lightly with a knife or something hard and pointy,  I sometimes use an embossing tool as shown below.

Once all your folds are made you are ready to glue your box together.  Put some glue onto your tabs and glue them against the side.  Bulldog clips or large paperclips are useful at holding the tabs in place while the glue dries.

To make your lid, first make a template the exact same way as the base BUT, increase your length and width dimensions by 5 mm.  And the height of the lid can be anything you like- 1 cm is probably the minimum you would want due to the lip of the lid needing to catch the sides, but otherwise the choice is yours.  For my box, I used a lid height of 3 cm.  Check your template against your box for fit and then cut out your box lid and assemble as before.

Finished box

At this point you could be done but if you want to line your box then read on.  To line the inside use your box template to cut out the lining material minus the tabs.  Check the material inside your box, as you may need to trim it slightly for fit.

My lining marked out, ready to be cut out

If you are using something sticky backed like I am, it's much easier to put it in the box if you score the backing where the fold lines are.  Only expose the sticky of the base, leaving the sides with the backing on until you get the base stuck down.  Trim the side lining as needed.

As to what my box is made out of?  Well I have lots of LBE (Little Brown Envelopes), a familar sight to all Discworld stamp fans. Inside each LBE was a selection of stamps, both common and the odd rare stamp, similar to trading cards.  What better gift box for an object made of stamps?