Fold a Stationery Box

Those of us who have children around will know that they do not make good onlookers. They want to get involved and participate. Encourage them to do so. It is great for their fine motor development as well as being a right brain stimulant. This product is an easy and fun one to do with a child of any age. Simply adapt the decorating part to their ability and have fun.

You can download the pattern for the box for FREE from aprettytalent.com. I would recommend printing it straight to cardboard if your printer is able to do so.

Cut the pattern as indicated using a pair of sharp scissors. Cutting out the circle is optional, but if you choose to do so, use a craft knife and cutting mat.

I never throw off-cut papers away, but keep them in a box for later projects.

Those of you who follow my blog regularly will know that I have a file filled with cut-out pictures that I keep for crafts. I delved into this file and came up with the pictures I was going to add. Take care when laying down your pictures to turn those in the sides alongside the flap with the hole upside down. This way they will face the right way up when folded.

I have certain preferences when it comes to glue, but I will not be prescriptive here. The type of glue you use will be affected by the age of the child participating in the exercise. I steer clear of wet glues as far as possible when working with very young children.

Leave the pictures to dry after gluing them in place.

Turn the box over when dry enough to do so and decorate the inside of the box as well. I started by putting some acrylic ink in a spray bottle and spritzing this all over the cardboard.

I then used some more ink and a feather to draw flowers and squiggles. Simply dip the feather in the ink and draw.

I then added some pictures to the inside of the box as well, gluing them down.

After waiting a little while for this side to dry, I turned the box over only to discover that some of the ink was leaking through from the other side!

Sometimes in life we simply have to work with our mistakes. I selected a watercolour pencil in the same colour as the ink that was showing through from the other side. Using my Aquash brush, I splattered paint all over this side of the box, obscuring the ink from the other side.

It is time to start folding the box. Fold all of the small flaps in as illustrated.

Now fold the two small side flaps in.

Lastly, fold the two long side flaps in.

Glue the small flaps.

Bring all the sides together, making sure that your small flaps are on the inside of the box. Hold it in place until dry enough to let go.

The final step is to load it with whatever knickknacks you choose to keep in there. My 3 year old niece arrived for a visit not long after I finished this box and promptly found an excuse to fill it with sweets, completely ignoring the hole. When I asked her what she was going to do about the hole, she pondered it for about 2 seconds before sticking her little fingers through and announcing that it was a handle.

For more crafty ideas and great products, visit APrettyTalent.com.
Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making PRETTY things.
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