Teacher Appreciation gift!!

Happy Thursday ladies...

I actually got a few projects started and finished this week..Go me!!..LOL

been feeling a little bit in the dumps lately due to my dad passing and I've been having a little bit of a hard time getting my groove back..

I actually have to admit I'm really happy that I got a few projects done this week, which is actually more than usual..LOL  

Here if Finland, we dont' have a "Teacher Appreciation!" Day, but the last day of school which is known as the Spring Fling, all students hand the teacher a gift as a thank you for the year.. Usually its a bunch of flowers or maybe a personlized gift..  Well, I wanted to hand make her something this year and so I came up with this keepsake box..  I plan on filling it with candy or tea or something that she really likes !! Candy is not forbidden in school here and neither is chewing gum.. LOL  god knows how many times I got in trouble in school for chewing gum..LOL

so, any way, here is my project !

It measures 5" x 7" and its 2.5" tall.. Perfect little pencil box..LOL  but this one will have goodies in it!!

The top of the box, which I will be adding a thank you tag on it and who its from..

and a photo of the inside.. pretty plain!!

I also thought to take a few photos of the making of this keepsake box incase anyone out there was interested on how I made and wanted to give a it ago themselves.. It really is pretty simple and it gets easier everytime you make one..LOL

so here we go:

for your supplies you will need:

two cereal boxes ( maybe one will be enough depending on the size)

paper trimmer

decorated papers ( I chose DCWV-Grade School stack)

Glue stick

bone folder or brayer

ruler or measureing mat

craft knife

scotch tape

tape runner( I used my ATG gun)

flatten and open up your cereal box.. cut it into the following pieces with your paper trimmer

1=5"x7", 2=2.5"x5" and 2=2.5"x7"  and lay them out as shown in the photo

now, take your roll of tape and tape them together leaving a small space inbetween each cardboard piece .

trim off excess tape!!  its just easier to move it around once they are all taped together..

then choose your 12x12 size printed paper and glue the cardboard piece to it as shown..

I used my brayer to help stick it all down evenly, you can also use your bone folder

now, trim off the excess paper like I've drawn out in the photo.. leaving about a 1/4" on each side.. I used my craft knife, but you can also do this with your paper trimmer..

Now, take your glue stick and glue the edges down.. I used my bone folder to help with the seems and pushing the edges firmly down to the cardboard..

Once you are down with the outside of the box, you will line the inside with either cardstock or printed paper.. I cut three pieces.. 2= 3"x5" and 1=9 3/4" by 11 3/4".. 

Once I got to this stage.. I got so over excited, I forgot to take more photos of the progress..LOL  But, I will walk you through them... super simple..

I put the box together, by doing the following... I gently with the aid of my bone folder folded the sides up, scoring the edges (where they were taped together), so not to bubble or tear the cardstock on the inside..  before putting it all together I added the trim to the top of the box,  by cutting 2=1 1/2" by 5" and 2= 1 1/2" x 7" pieces of decorated paper, which I scored in the middle and then taped them to the outside and inside of the box, giving the edges a finished look.(you can see this in the photo where the lid is open)

Now, I finally started putting it all together.. pushed up the edges and then I tore a piece of tape and secured the corners with it on the outside, keeping the box together while I cut a small piece of decoreated paper 4=1 1/2" by 2 1/2" and used my ATG gun to tape them over the scotch tape.. Hiding the scotch tape and will help keep it secure..

and for the lid... I cut another piece from the cereal box, measureing 5 1/4" by 7 1/4".. I cut a small piece of decoreated paper for the hinge 6"x 3" and scored it in the middle..using my ATG gun to tape it to the back of the lid (underneath), then covered both the top and bottom of lid with decorated paper.. finally using my ATG gun, I taped the hinge to the inside of the box..

just click on the photo for a bigger view of the box.. 

I certainly hope this tutorial, even if a few photos were missing due to my excitement, will help you in making one these keep sake boxes.. these really do have many uses, not just for photos, but keeping hand made cards, etc..

I want to thank you ladies all so much for stopping by today and having a look at what I've created..

Hope you have a wonderfully creative rest of the week...

Hugs
Nanné

p.s.  If you do create one of these, I'd love to see it so please leave a comment linking me back to your blog