Find and Make Your Own Box Templates

So, here is the post I contributed to 733- A Creative Blog's annual Creativity Week. I'll leave the intro for those of you who are new or who are visiting for the first time! Welcome and I hope you find something useful!

My name is Bethany and when I am not running after my soon-to-be first grader or 20 month old twins, I like to rest or watch Days of Our Lives or eat things-obviously there is chocolate involved- but I usually don't do those things. Usually, during nap time or late at night, I pretend like the house is in perfect array; the laundry cleaned, pressed and put away; lawn mowed, dinner finished and there is nothing else to do but make and do crafty things. Those things- the good, the bad and the REALLY bad- I post on my blog, The Paper Pony. Do you find it difficult to find just the right box and packaging templates? For some reason, I can never find the templates I need, or they cost money, or I can't download them or some other issue. To remedy this, I started saving the packages of things we bought and started turning them into templates and it was super-easy! I might even have been known, on occasion, to buy a product just for it's packaging. And now, I have a selection of packaging options. So, here is how to turn these:
...into THESE!! (note: I left them fairly plain because I wanted to show how the boxes look at there most basic... oh, and the fact that I am TERRIBLE at cute embellishments- you should see my attempts at making cards!)So, first, you carefully take your box apart. If there are glued seams, I usually just tear as carefully as possible. You will be using a ruler in the process, so if you tear a couple of things, it's no big deal.
Lay the box open flat and study it so you understand how it works. I like to do this first so as I attempt to recreate it, there are fewer mistakes. Then place it on the "wrong" side of your chosen paper.Trace all around the outside with a pencil so you can erase it later if you wish.
Then, carefully bend each crease back that you can and trace those as well. It is important during this step to use a very sharp pencil and line everything up precisely.
Do the same with the lid...
Then, using your ruler, straighten up the edges and draw in the lines you missed or couldn't mark by bending back. I use dashed lines to indicate folds to which I need to pay particular attention or those that go opposite ways.
After you're happy with your traced image, cut out and fold using the original package as your guide. The original has the folds intact and it makes it so much easier to recreate when you know which way everything is supposed to go. Great for visual and hands-on learners like most of us creative people are!
Then, glue where you need to and put it all together. In a lot of cases, you might find it easier to embellish before you glue everything together.
Here's the final project!
Sometimes, the tracing method can be more difficult with certain kinds of packaging. Especially if the box is awkward or requires some odd cuts or is a "two-parter"; that is a package that is too big for one piece of paper and you are required to make it in two pieces. Like this box, for example.
I used the "trace" method and was running into all kinds of trouble; partly due to a dull pencil and the fact that it was really late at night, and also because it is just an awkward box and required some odd cuts with a craft knife. Just look:
Not pretty! It was much easier to just scan and print onto card stock. Most packaging is white on the inside so you will need to adjust the brightness and contrast. Also, it helps to back it with a colored piece of paper. I like to add notes as well so I know what I'm doing. Here is what I did with this one so you can click on it to enlarge, cut, paste, print and make it yourself!
Here's the final result!
One more note! You may need to adjust the top openings so you don't have to glue them all shut like their originals are. For the cream carton, I flattened out a simple loop and slipped it over the top to keep it closed until I have need for it. The ol' "punch a couple of holes, thread ribbon and tie a bow" method also works well in a lot of cases.
So, here is what I ended up with! I kept all the original templates and put them in a big folder so now, I have a bunch of options when it comes to cute boxes AND a great excuse to buy some things I might not normally get. "I HAVE to HAVE this BOX!"