I like to hand out lots of little treats to neighbors and co-workers on Valentine’s Day, so I was looking for a 3D box design that would be easy to mass produce. This cute XOXO box from Lori Whitlock was perfect – it’s easy to assemble, the perfect size for jumbo candy bars, and doesn’t require any adhesive.
I was packaging both peanut butter M&Ms and jumbo packs of Reese’s peanut butter cups and chose to cut all of the boxes at the size same (slightly larger than the dimensions the file opens up with) to save time.
The boxes are a little wide for the M&Ms, but with the addition of this glassine paper I wrapped them in (awesome clearance score after Christmas at Michael’s…love using Christmas supplies up for Valentine’s Day!), they filled the box pretty well.
The jumbo Reese’s were a near perfect fit though. There are not really any instructions for assembling the boxes, but you won’t need them. After bending all of the tabs inward and creasing all of the score lines, the whole thing is secured by side flaps that fold over the tabs.
Speaking of score lines…I know that the dashed lines in 3D designs bother a lot of you. If you use cardstock with a white core (I used cardstock from an old K&Company Valentine’s paper pad), they are particularly annoying. Linda Kaiser has a great tutorial on creating smooth score lines here (if you don’t follow her blog already, she always has gorgeous projects and super helpful tutorials). I was in a hurry, though, and half of my boxes were white anyway, so here’s my “secret” for quickly covering up ugly score lines when you have a ton of boxes to make…I just color them in by swiping a brush-tipped marker of a lighter tint over the edges that are most noticeable. And no gift recipient has complained yet…
The boxes are perfectly cute without any additional embellishments and are also suprisingly secure without glue.
Well, they won’t fall apart anyway…nosy cats can still find a way to get into them…and into my shot.
I added some twine (from Pretty Pink Posh) to keep the tops closed while I distribute them. Valentine’s Day may be over a month away, but I’m ready for it! What crafty things are you making for the holiday?
Very cute! I’ve used that box before, and it does work well. The polka dot liner is a great element, and yay for repurposing Christmas clearance!
P.S. I like your kitty photo bombs. 🙂
Thanks Kelly! And that kitty seems to be showing up more and more when I try to take photos…I don’t know if it’s the warm lights I’m using or if she just loves the attention!
These are just what I was looking for. I don’t like using glues with food items, so this box is perfect! Also just want to mention as you have noted, Christmas clearance for me is like Super clearance for Valentine’s Day. This year especially because no one seemed to be interested in the red mesh ribbon on clearance which makes great valentines wreaths. I guess us kitty lovers just think alike!
That’s a good point Sandy…I don’t really like using glues when I’m wrapping food either. And I kinda can’t wait for V-Day clearance now…because I can use a lot of that for Christmas next year too!