Paper Patchwork Octo Box

An 8-sided paper patchwork box for you today - the last in my series of paper patchwork gift boxes and baskets. There's a patchwork block on each side of the box. On the lid, you have one whole block and four half blocks. It's a pretty big box - you could fit a cake inside (or lots of crafty goodies). 

The patchwork blocks featured are all taken from my new HOTP Paper Patchwork 2 template:

You make up the 2-1/2in square layered patchwork blocks and glue them onto the box sides. Easy - and much quicker than you imagine.
The patchwork blocks make up in no time because they have a secret:
they are linked - and layered:

Enough of the pep talk, here's the Octo Box:
OctagonBoxLid.pdf
OctagonBoxSides.pdf

OctagonBoxLid.svg
OctagonBoxSides.svg

Paper Patchwork Octo Box

1 Cut out the box pieces: box lid and 8 sides, box base and eight sides. Score and crease the folds. Be careful not to mix up the box lid and base - they are of slightly different dimensions (the lid, must of course, be bigger than the base). Might be a good idea to make a small pencil mark on the wrong side of the lid. For a super-patchwork lid, you can cut the lid sides out of differently-coloured paper (little point doing this on the box base because the patchwork blocks conceal the cardstock underneath).

2 Cut out and make the patchwork blocks. You need eight for the box sides and three for the box lid (two of the same pattern - these are cut in half and surround the centre block).

3 Glue the patchwork blocks onto the box parts. Use tacky PVA glue.

4 Next, glue the lid sides onto the lid and the box sides onto the base.

5 To assemble the lid and box bottom, fold the sides up and glue the adjacent tabs. Then fold the flaps to the inside, gluing the edges in place. Your box is now finished.

For a luxurious finish, you can line and decorate the box lid and/or the box base. 

That concludes my paper patchwork container-making extravaganza. Check out all the other boxes and baskets that I have featured over the past blogweek. They are all serviceable containers in their own right, even if you don't choose to decorate them with paper patchwork.

Patchwork Block Gift BoxesPaper Patchwork Baskets
Paper Patchwork Rounded-Square Basket 
Paper Patchwork Big Square Box
Paper Patchwork Hex Box & Basket

Big Square Box: Paper Patchwork

Today's paper patchwork container is a Big Square Box. Not huge (about 5 x 3-1/4in/12.5 x 8.3cm) - but bigger than Monday's mini-cubes. Your basic square box comes in very handy - and provides a nice display area for the paper patchwork blocks. 

The patchwork block designs are from my new Paper Patchwork 2 template from Hot Off The Press:

HOTP papercraft template # 7420.

Of course, any 2-1/2in square patchwork block will fit onto the box sides and lid, including these:

QuiltBlockswStitching17May14.pdf

And here are your square box templates:
SquareBoxLid.pdf 
SquareBoxBaseSides.pdf 

SquareBoxLid.svg
SquareBoxBaseSides.svg 

The boxes are pieced so that the components fit onto photocopier-sized cardstock. You must cut a lid or a base and glue the sides all around, like so:

All the paper patchwork containers that I've made this week are constructed out of cheapo 160gsm photocopier cardstock which I have printed with a gingham pattern. The boxes are remarkably sturdy, because they are double-thick what with the layered patchwork blocks and the folded edges. And they don't look cheapo at all!

Big Square Box

1 Cut out the box pieces: box lid and four sides, box base and four sides. Score and crease the folds. Be careful not to mix up the box lid and the box base, because they are of slightly different dimensions. The box lid must, of course, be bigger than the box base in order to fit on top. (Might be a good idea to make a small pencil mark on the wrong side of the lid.)

2 Cut out and make the patchwork blocks. You need four for the box lid and eight to go around the box. Note how by rotating the position of the Sun Ray block (on the HOTP template), a circular pattern is created. Because the box bottom must be slightly smaller than the lid, you must very slightly overlap or trim one of the patchwork blocks on each box bottom side:

Just skootch it over a smidge when you glue it in place.

3 Next, glue the lid sides onto the lid and the box sides onto the base. Use tacky PVA glue. I use a cocktail stick as an applicator.

4 To assemble the lid and box bottom, fold the sides up and glue the adjacent tabs. Then fold the lengthwise flaps to the inside and glue them down - you only need to glue the bottom edges of the flaps.

Your Big Box is now finished. If you want to add a bit of stealth luxury (like the concept of a fur-lined raincoat), then you can add liners inside the box lid and box base. Decorate the liners with patchwork blocks - or simply use contrast cardstock. Nice surprise factor.

I read that ginghams are trendy this season -  not that they ever go out of style where patchwork is concerned. Here are some freebie printable papers for you. (Yes, I made them myself.):

NavyGingham.pdf
HotPinkGingham.pdf
PinkGinghamFlowers.pdf

Tip: if you want your printable papers to look like retro fabric that you just discovered in an attic chest, print them on cream-coloured cardstock. Antique-y, aged, tea-dyed!

Enjoy the holiday weekend. Happy patchwork papercrafting. 

Patchwork Block Gift Boxes

I just love paper patchwork - no seams to sew or fabric to fray, and I can play around with prints and plains and geometric configurations to my heart's content. Also a great way to use up odds'n'ends of paper.  

My second Paper Patchwork papercraft template has just come out from Hot Off The Press:

Paper Patchwork 2 template 7420 from Hot Off The Press, Inc.

The template has a new batch of quilt block patterns to make, each block sized about 2-1/2in square. If you think it looks like a lot of cutting - behold the secret of these "pieced" designs:

The design elements are attached, keeping cutting to a minimum and facilitating easy layering.

Okay, so now you've got a batch of very lovely paper patchwork blocks that you've whipped up in no time. What do you do with them besides make cards? That's where today's blog post comes in. In fact, in my next few posts, I'll be featuring a collection of boxes and baskets all made to fit 2-1/2in square paper patchwork blocks.

Today's project is Patchwork Block Gift Boxes. Why? Because I like puns and visual jokes. (Patchwork Blocks, geddit?) Also because they are easy to make and a useful size. The ribbon handles (trendy seam binding, actually) remind me of the handles on boxes of animal crackers. 

Here's are the Patchwork Block Gift Boxes:
PatchworkBlockGiftBox.pdf 
PatchworkBlockGiftBox.svg 

 
And because I'm nice, I'm also giving you three free patchwork blocks:
QuiltBlocks.pdf 
QuiltBlocks.svg 

The "stitching" is printed on the block components, so you can overprint them onto patterned paper, then cut them out.

Now for the how-tos:

Patchwork Block Gift Box

1. Cut out the box body and the lid and the base. Glue the lid and the base to the box body as indicated by the arrows. The tapered ends of the lid and the base are the gluing flaps. The notched ends are the closure flaps.

2. Score the folds and crease them.

3. Make six paper patchwork blocks and stick them onto the block faces, like so: 

The scored folds aid the positioning of the patchwork blocks. It looks best to have adjacent squares in contrasting colours. 

4. To assemble the box, join the side flap on the last block onto the first block - you've now got a cube.

5. Handle: carefully pierce holes through the patchwork blocks on opposite sides of the cube (location of holes is indicated on the template). Cut a piece of ribbon about 35cm (14in) long. Knot one end, thread the ribbon in a tapestry needle. Pass the ribbon through a hole, knot on the inside of the box. Thread the ribbon through the other hole, knot the ribbon on the inside and trim off the excess. Your Patchwork Block Gift Box is now complete.

Here's a coming attraction for the other paper patchwork containers I'll be featuring:

And here's a link to the original Hot Off The Press Paper Patchwork Template.