We R Memory Keepers Gift Box Punch Board

Hi, guys. It's been...busy...around here. Obviously by "around here" I mean around my house and not around here on the blog, because, well, I've had a few other things going on. Like putting down the last of the new flooring (in the kitchen) and painting ceilings (also the kitchen), and more painting, painting, painting, PAINTING (like, everywhere). We are slowly but surely getting there though. Just a few more little things and we will be ready to list.

So between that and the soul freezing winter weather Tennessee has been hit with lately, things have been a little uncrafty. But last night I finally had a chance to sit down and put together a post about one of my favorite crafty tools, the We R Memory Keepers Gift Box Punch Board.

First of all, I want to make a disclaimer - these pictures, guys, they're not my favorite. Late night crafting with incandescent lighting is almost always a bad combo, but we work with what we've got here. And my poor, poor kitchen table that is (somewhere) on the to-do list to get a makeover makes for a pretty lame backdrop. What's really sad is that my mom passed this table on to us several years back, and when she did she had just refinished it. Three kids, one crafting momma, and all the abuse of being a staging area during our house revamp has left it looking a bit worse for the wear. No judgment though, someday she'll have a fresh white coat of paint (if I have anything to do with it), and all will be redeemed.

So anyway, that out of the way, here's the Gift Box Punch Board.

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My mom bought me this board for my birthday, and I love it! In fact, I bought my SIL Leah one for Christmas. Basically it makes a self closing box (no separate lid!) with one square of paper. And they can be made in a variety of sizes of course, depending on your starting paper size and the shape instructions you choose.

I started out with a 6x6 sheet I cut down from this fun Disney paper. I scored the whole 24 sheet pad at a local dry goods store for $1.99!

As always with the WRMK punch boards, the instructions are printed right on the board, and the score tool stores in a slot on the underside of the board, so there's nothing to keep track of.

I chose to make a 1.75 x 1.75 x 1.75 inch box. Based on that, here are the measurement instructions to follow.

Using this board is a lot like using the Envelope Punch Board - just punch and score. It's important to pay attention to the line instructions, because they may not both be the same depending on your box size. If your box is taller or shorter than it is wide, your start and diagonal lines will be different.

Start out by lining the left edge of your paper up with the appropriate start line, in this case the small (S) line.

Punch using the button.

Now score using the tool along all three score lines, the two lines leading off the button (follow the little guides trailing off the button to find the grooves) and the diagonal line.

Now rotate your paper 90 degrees to the left and repeat all steps.

This is what your paper will look like at this point.

Also, our paper is small enough to fit entirely on the punch board, but if you're making a bigger box, there is an arm that swings out to extend your score line surface.

Now, flip it over and do all the punching and scoring again.

Now you have two notches on each side.

Here you can see the score lines a little better.

Now insert each corner into the punch at the top of the button and punch again to cut the curved slits you will need to lock the box flaps together. It's very important to make sure your corner is well seated into the corner of the punch before punching, otherwise your slits will be off and the corner will not round well.

Just make sure you have the same side of the paper facing up during the punching of each corner. This is what it should look like at this point.

Go ahead and crease your scored lines, starting with the longest ones.

Now bring your sides up and crease the diagonal lines inward so they are toward the inside of the box.

You can leave these interior flaps as is if you would like the box to be able to be flattened back out when opened, but I like to adhere them with either glue or an adhesive runner. I find it easiest to go ahead and add the adhesive to all 4 sides before folding up the box.

If you look closely, you can see the lines of adhesive.

When folded up, they will adhere the interior flaps to the sides of the box.

Now you will gently hook the opposite flaps together using the curved slits we punched earlier. Be careful here as these can be easy to tear, especially if you used thinner paper.

All done! Isn't it cute? This size is perfect for gifting jewelry, or it would be just right for holding a cake ball or truffle at a wedding or baby shower. 

Since you can't see the date on that ring, we're going to say I graduated 5 years ago.

Here's one I didn't adhere the sides on. Okay, fine, I graduated in '95. Whatever.

I made a whole stack of these for Lily, who loves anything Disney. And now I'm kicking myself for not buying up all the cheapo paper stacks!

These are really cute using just about any paper. Here's one I made using some cool printed vellum I found at Tuesday Morning.

Oh, and how cute would these be in craft paper for a gender reveal party, with a pink or blue cupcake inside? So many possibilities! I can't get enough of these punch boards, and I can't wait to see if they come out with any more!

What's been going on lately...

I know I've been scarce around here, but it's not because I haven't had anything to post about! It's just been very, very busy. A few things that have been occupying me:

My SIL Rachael's birthday was just a few days after my last post. I got her a Marvy Uchida Border Punch System a few weeks ago, but I wanted her to have something special on her actual birthday too, so I whipped up this fun little window pillow box and packed it with a couple pairs of handmade earrings.

To make the pillow box I used my WRMK Pillow Box Punch Board, then just used a large scalloped circle paper punch to create the window. Then I cut a piece of transparency film to cover the opening, adhered it to the inside with an adhesive roller, then folded the box up and glued it.

The ball shaped earrings were one of the pairs I featured a few weeks ago. The second pair looks really impressive, but truthfully, they almost don't qualify as handmade. The wire wrapped circles came in a string of four from Walmart, and I literally just added the ear hooks and backings. She really seemed to love them though, and she's worn them several times already. :)

I used a Sizzix die and embossing folder I got recently to create a mason jar themed card. I added various buttons as filler for the "jar", and on the envelope I added a fun little pennant I got at Tuesday Morning.

The day after was my BIL Scott's birthday. He and his family live in Texas, so his gift needed to be something that would do well in shipping. He does a lot of traveling, so I thought he might like a new Dopp kit.

I sewed him up a good sized zipper pouch using men's tweed suiting and sturdy cotton, and filled it with some nice poured soaps, a new razor, and some shave cream. He loves to grill, so I also sent him a bratwurst grill cage that very narrowly escaped staying here with Nick. :)

My Lily girl turned 5 a few days later on October 5th! That morning before church she woke up to a new baby doll that looks just like her baby cousin Adelaide :), and this assortment of pillow boxes:

My girl loves accessories (as you can tell lol), so each one contained a new piece (or pieces) of jewelry:

This necklace and bracelet set was a clearance find at Hobby Lobby.

The charm bracelet was one I put together using charms from Walmart and basic findings.

The rings are actually midi rings from Rue 21, but they fit her 5 year old fingers like regular rings.

The rose necklace was one I made. The rose pendant came from Hobby Lobby on clearance, and I added the crown and chain. The crown was another charm from Walmart. I cut the top ring off, then sealed it into the well of the rose using Lisa Pavelka Magic-Glos.

The rhinestone crown necklace was yet another Walmart charm added to a chain, and it ended up being one of her favorites.

We had a party for her on the 11th, and I'll tell you about that in my next post!

I've also been having some fun playing with my new Pinwheel Punch Board, which We R Memory Keepers was kind enough to send me to try.

It was my intention to make some pinwheels for Lily's party to use as favors and decorations, but I wasn't able to get my hands on any of the pinwheel attachments that makes the pinwheels functional. Every craft store I've gone to has been sold out of them, but as soon as I find some to snatch up I'm going to do a review post on the punch board.

In between everything else I've also been doing some mending and altering jobs, as well as giving the growing laundry a meaningful glance and a promise. But hopefully I'll have a bit more time to post now that the cluster of birthdays is past!

WRMK Pillow Box Punch Board

Today I want to tell you about another awesome punch board: the We R Memory Keepers Pillow Box Punch Board!

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This little board is one of my favorites for packaging small gifts. Remember 100 years ago when McDonald's apple pies came in pillow boxes?

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When I was a kid, every Sunday morning before church, my dad would take me to McDonald's for breakfast before we ran the church bus route. Those weekly daddy/daughter dates remain one of my most treasured childhood memories, and I've always loved pillow boxes since then.

This board is so easy to use, and you can make your pillow boxes in several different sizes.

The instructions are printed right on the board, so there's nothing to keep up with.  And like the Envelope Punch Board, it comes with a handy score tool that stores in a slot on the bottom.

The instructions state that your paper needs to be 6 inches wide, but to honest, I've found that 5.5 inches works a little better for me. I often start out with 6 inch paper, but I usually trim off some of the tab at the end. If I don't, I find that it tends to interfere a little with the curve of the closed pillow box, especially if I'm using a thicker paper. 

For today's project I decided to spice it up a bit by running my cardstock through my Big Kick with an embossing folder first. I started out with this 6x6 square of hot pink cardstock.

I chose this cupcake motif folder from Paper Studio, in part because it has a repeating pattern, which made it easy to match up the cupcakes so I could go back and emboss the part that extended past the edges of the folder.

Yes, sadly my pretty manicure is gone. :( But the paper turned out super cute!

Okay, to start with, you're going to line the left edge of your paper up with the start line on the punch board like so.

Then you're going to press the button at the top to punch.

Then use the score tool to score under the curve and down the vertical score line.

Now move your paper to the left, so that the left edge lines up with the left edge of the punch board and the curve you just punched fits snugly in the curve below the left side of the button. Also, the little score guide arm will line up with the vertical line you just scored.

Punch again, and score the curve and the vertical line again, then move it to the left one more time and repeat the punch/score process again.

 Now you'll flip the paper upside down so that you're starting off with the same edge you started with and repeat the entire process.

Now we're going to add the thumb notches to make it easy to open the box once it's closed. To do this, you just fit your paper into the top of the punch board. Just follow the spaces to fit your middle curve under the button and punch again.

You'll end up with a neat little notch like this:

Flip the paper upside down and punch the other side too. Then trim off the little curved edges on the end tab, following the score marks. Your paper will look like this when you're finished.

At this point I trimmed my end tab down to about 1/4 inch, but that's up to you. Crease your vertical score lines.

Now it's time for your adhesive. You can use an adhesive runner here, but I've personally found that Elmer's Glue All gives me a stronger bond in this application. Add the adhesive of your choice to the tab on the end, then fold your box to close. If you're using a wet glue, you may want to set a book or something heavy on it for a minute to help it set. I usually just tuck it under the punch side of the board.

All done! When you're ready to close the box, gently squeeze the side edges together, then fold the flaps down, the one with the thumb notch first.

These are so cute for little gifts like jewelry!

And you can use paper anywhere from 4 to 12 inches in length. Your closed box is going to end up about 2 inches shorter than your paper.

This one I made from a WRMK 4x6 journaling card, and I love it like a small child. Look at that adorable swimsuit theme! Ah, summer, is it really time to let you go?

I also tried a few more using a birthday embossing folder.

And this one done in 6x8 paper made the perfect size for a Dove Bar.

How great would these be for favors at a shower or birthday party?

I also made a bunch of these in a couple of sizes as gifts for Nick's grandmother and sister for birthdays/Mother's Day.

The six inch ones in the top picture are perfect for gift cards, and the bottom ones are great for jewelry or other little trinkets. I just think they make such a fresh change from your standard square box or gift bag. And if you add a little bow and tag you have a pretty fancy package!

Check out some other gorgeous interpretations I came across:

We R Memory Keepers

Monica's Passions

Damask Love

Crafts Direct

The Secret Life of Paper

Craft Ideas

We R Memory Keepers