Silhouette Tutorial: Candy Box and Tie Top Hex Box

Both of these box cutting files will work for both the Silhouette Portrait machine and the Silhouette Cameo machine. I prefer cutting boxes on the Cameo as you get a larger end product, but the Portrait machine will also work fine too. If you use the Portrait, you will need to adjust the Tie Top Hex Box to 85% and the candy box to 70%. You will find this option in your Silhouette Studio software under: Object/Transform/Scale Options. Or you can manually scale the boxes by selecting and dragging the corner of your selection to the size you like.

****Please note:
These boxes have been uploaded into the queue at the Silhouette store. They might not be available immediately as they have to process through the store, but will be there shortly. I will post links as the become available. 

Tie Top Hex Box Instructions:

Select a double sided cardstock or pretty solid for your box. I used my Prairie Flowers paper from My Giddy Up Girl collection that I designed for Carta Bella. 

Fold the bottom and tabs to the inside.

Fold the sides of the box inward.

 

Turn the box upright. Start gluing the tabs to the bottom of the box with a strong hold paper glue like Tombow Mono adhesive. (The bond is really strong...the paper will tear before the glue gives way--which makes it perfect for gluing the bottom of a box.)

Continue gluing all the tabs to the bottom of the box.

 Make sure corners line up.

 Make sure the sides of the box align with the bottom of the box.

 Align the last tab and glue it to the bottom.

 Hold the last tab in place to let dry.

Put glue on the side tab to glue the side wall together.

Hold in place.

 Accordion fold the angle folds at the top of the box. (the part with the holes will end up in the center, the part that I'm pinching on the box in the photo above ends up out.)

 This is what your box should look like now.

Thread a narrow (3/8 inch or less width) ribbon or cord through the holes as shown above.

Insert a small bottled gift such as olive oil, bubble bath, fancy vinegar. (box stands 7 inches tall with a 3.5 inch base if cut at maximum size on the Silhouette Cameo.) Tie the ribbon together and pull tight to close the box. 

Ta Da! Now it's ready to gift to a favorite friend or neighbor.

Candy Box instructions:

Select a fun candy colored double sided card stock. Stripes, or dots are a good choice for this project. I used my Mid-Summer Sky paper from my Cool Summer collection for Carta Bella. It has a fun chevron stripe on one side, and patterned clouds on the other side.

Cut the candy box file. Crease the ends of the box to the center.

Crease each of the sides of the box.

Crease the side tab.

Bring the side around to the tab and glue together.

Hold down side to let glue dry.

Open up the box.

Now for the tricky part...folding the ends.

Grasp the end of the box where the end is "split" (there are 4 splits.)

Fold the angle where the "split" is to the first corner of the box.

Continue creasing this box all the way around. Make sure that the point of the "slit" angle points to the inside of the box as you fold.

Maybe a better way to illustrate this is showing you how not to let the points go. See how the point in the photo above is not going to the center it's pointing out. Don't do this!

Now try to "push" that fold all the way around until it closes into a flower shape.

You will think that it isn't working until all the sudden, you realize that it is now all locked into place correctly.

I'm going to show you the under side of the end and how the slit comes in the middle of the two angles coming together--almost like it is folding on top of each other. (this is why there are photos...it's hard to put this into words....please just see what I'm trying to illustrate in the picture here.)

Here is the finished end from an end view.

And here is the finished end from a side view.

Cool thing about this box...is that it requires no glue to close the ends. 

The only glue is to join the sides together. 

Use your imagination to fill this treat box. The box when cut on a Silhouette cameo, at maximum size is 9 inches from end to end and nearly 3 inches on each side. 

The box area between the ends is about 4.5 X 3 inches. 

Happy Crafting!

Samantha Walker

Silhouette Tutorial: Ice Cream man box

I don't know about you...but I like to eat ice cream year round...and that means any time is a good time for ice cream themed projects. The ice cream theme is perfect for birthdays, showers and gift giving. With ice cream on the brain...I created a little ice cream man box for your future parties and gifts.

Here is a link to the design in the silhouette online store: Box Ice cream Mouse 

This design can work on both the Silhouette Cameo or the Silhouette Portrait. If you use the Silhouette Portrait, ungroup the design. Select the main box piece, turn it so that it is straight up and down, and not on a diagonal. Regroup all of the piece, then scale the design to 70%.

The file does have several pieces, but I'll show you how to cut efficiently and also give you a little tip to help move the project along a little faster.

Open the file in the Silhouette Studio software. Cut the main box piece from white card stock.

Set the box piece aside.

Next select the grouped pieces and slide them over as shown in the photo above. They have already been grouped in areas that can be the same color. This will make your project go a little faster. Go ahead and cut strips of paper to accommodate the areas on the screen that correlate with your cutting mat.

Depending upon how new your mat is, because you are cutting several smaller pieces of paper at the same time, you may want to tape down the edges of the paper strips to prevent movement when cutting. 

****Time saving tip: use Silhouette's adhesive paper and it will make the following steps (where you paper piece the mouse) go much faster. This paper comes with adhesive and a removable backing. This paper is specially designed to adhere to the cutting mat so that the removable backing grips instead of slides like some removable backings. 

After you have all your pieces cut, assemble in the order above.

 Continue building up your pieces adding the wheels.

Then add the spokes, fender, and hub.

 Add the ice cream cone silhouette.

 and the ice cream.

Add the striped awnings.

 Now crease the main box.

 Start attaching sides beginning with the bottom of the cart.

 Glue the second side on the bottom of the box, making sure that corners line up. 

 Now attach the cart freezer door. Be sure to put the glue on the right side. Insert the tab into the top of the cart.

 You can choose to have your door hinged on the side with the mouse or the opposite side.

 Hold the freezer door in place until the glue is set.

 Go to the next side of the cart, and glue both sides.

Now put glue on the flaps of the top of the freezer box. Pinch them into place.

 You may want to hold them in place while drying with Clover Wonder Clips. (made for quilting but the come in handy for crafting--especially for holding projects together while gluing!)

Glue the awning roof together. I'm using Tombow mono adhesive it's a great paper glue that holds paper well without curling it.

 (Please note, I changed the design slightly after assembling this and decided to continue the awning all the way around. You will need to fold down the front awning and attach it to the sides, and find the separate piece of awning to glue to complete the awning all the way around.)

attach the colored roof piece.

Bring both sides of the mouse together at his back and attach the tab to the other mouse.

Clip it together to hold it together while drying. You may want to add a dot of glue to hold the mouse ears together, but it isn't necessary.

Now fill the cart with candy or another special treat. 

Hope you enjoyed this project!

Happy Crafting!

Samantha Walker