DIY Paper Boxes
You can make your own paper boxes to use for gifts, necklaces, rings or secret notes. If you can master the folding technique required for making an origami paper box, you'll only need a few sheets of colored cardstock or origami paper and a pair of scissors. You can also make simpler paper boxes using a box template, scissors and rubber cement or glue.
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Origami Box Set-Up
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You'll need two square sheets of paper, one slightly larger than the other, for each paper box you want to make. You can begin with a 10 5/8-inch square for the bottom and an 11-inch square for the lid to make a medium-sized box and then experiment with sheets of paper of different sizes to make larger or smaller boxes. Look for colorful, patterned cardstock or origami paper. You can use matching sheets or contrasting colors for the lid and bottom, or you can decorate your own paper with markers, watercolor or pencil before you fold it into a box. Let any decorations dry before you begin folding.
Origami Box Folding
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You can make the box's lid and bottom using the same folding method. Fold the square sheet of paper in half diagonally, making a crease, then unfold it. Fold the square in half again to make a crease perpendicular to the first one. Unfold the paper again, then fold each corner in half so that their points meet the center of the square. You should end up with a new, smaller square. Then unfold the corners.
Fold one corner so that its point touches the opposite corner's crease, and unfold it. Repeat with the remaining three corners, unfolding each corner after creasing it. Then fold each corner so that its point touches the crease line closest to it. Then unfold again. Your creases should have created a pattern of squares.
Cut the paper in two places at one of the square's corners. Each cut should go two squares deep in the grid, and the two cuts should be two squares apart. Repeat on the opposite corner. Orient the paper on your work surface with the cut lines pointing north and south. Fold the left and right corners along your previously creased lines twice, then fold them up to make sidewalls. Let the flaps of extra paper cross each other. Fold the top and bottom corners of the paper over the crossed ends of the left and right corners, and tuck their ends under those corners.
Paper Box Templates
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You can print out a copy of a paper box template from a variety of websites. You can find one at enchantedlearning.com. Decorate the template with markers, crayons, watercolors or colored pencils, and let your decorations dry completely, then cut out the template and fold it along the guidelines. Use glue to secure the bottom tab, and leave the top open.
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