Hi, Crafty Friends! Amanda from @lacedesignstudio_ here with a fun autumn project! If you’re looking for the perfect gift set, this 3d donut box and coffee cup are so fun and cozy! I'd love to show you how I made them, so let's get started.
Materials:
- Cardstock Warehouse cardstock papers:
- Cut Files:
- Electronic Cutting Machine (Cricut, Silhouette, etc.)
- Bearly Art® Precision Glue
- Acetate
- Embossing Machine & Folders (Optional)
- Scoring Wheel or Stylus
To start, I uploaded the files into my Cricut software and got everything sized, chose my colors, and made any tweaks I wanted to make.
I added an acetate window to the project on my own. To add the acetate window on yours, you can do one of two things: draw out a rectangle over the shape of the open window with just enough space to glue, or duplicate the box, use the contour tool and select the box itself so just the window shape is visible - then you would have to add an offset so that it’s slightly larger than the window with enough area to glue. I chose the first option because it required less work ;) I also decided to score the word “Donuts” onto the box to make sure they were properly spaced out and straight. You can do this by duplicating the word, changing one of the words to “score” and attaching it to the box. If that all feels too complicated to you, you can just cut the original file as it is.
Today, we’ll be breaking down this assembly into three parts: the box, the donuts, and finally, the coffee cup. Keeping your pieces separate for the three sections is a nice way to stay organized while you assemble.
Box Assembly
I started by laying out the letters on the die cut box lid. With the letters in place, I glued them down, and then glued my acetate into the inside of the box.
Then, I started folding along the dashed score lines to create the shape of the box. Once all sides were folded, I lined up the two box pieces and glued the long tab into what would be the base of the box.
Now, my favorite part of this box is that nothing else requires glue; the tabs easily get folded into each other, like if you were building your shipping boxes. You need to tuck the side tabs into the main front piece of the box, and then fold that flap over to lock them in. The two tabs towards the opposite side of the box get held in place with the top lid of the box hanging over it. Once your box is done, set it aside so we can work on our donuts.
Donut Assembly
I separated my donut decorative pieces (I also switched out some donut “faces” and added elements from Design Space: a pumpkin, candy corn, and acorn) and began to glue them together before setting them aside to build the donut boxes.
Next, we’re going to assemble our boxes. This part can get a little tricky, so follow along and double check your pieces are separated properly before you begin gluing.
The two strips with the semi-circle cutouts will serve as the top lid to our donut boxes. I also cut out small holes in the lids so that they seemed more like real donuts, and here is where I created a circle acetate cutout just larger than the hole so I could glue it to the inside.
The bottom portion of the donuts do not have a hole cutout and go together with the two strips that do not have cutouts. There are six total donuts, but 12 lid circles and 12 bottom circles - this is so you can “hide” the insert tabs that will help us form the edge around our donuts. You can go ahead and glue four acetate circles into four of the lid circles. (If you want to use the original 6 donuts instead of changing two out like I did, glue all six.)
Now we’re going to begin gluing the sides of each donut box for the lid and bottom pieces. Starting with the pieces that have the semi-circle cutout (top lids), you’ll want to grab one side that has the trapezoid on one end, and one that is rectangular. What you’ll want to do next is glue the end piece (right side with 4 cuts) onto the left side of the trapezoid piece so that the tabs on the bottom are right next to each other. Next, fold the tabs inward and apply glue a few tabs at a time. The lid without the acetate will get glued directly on the tabs. Now glue the lid with the acetate directly on top to cover the tabs on the inside. You’ll need to repeat this same concept for the bottom base of the donut boxes, and for each donut. You can also go ahead and glue the tops we decorated earlier right onto the top lids (remember, the ones with the cutout to make the boxes easier to open).
Once all of your decorated donuts are assembled, we can set them inside the box and close it so we can move onto our coffee cup.
Coffee Cup Assembly
I’ve placed two versions of the cup in the Design Space file that is linked in the supplies - one is if you’d like to use print then cut, and it’s already been broken up in halves where you can print on 8.5x11” paper, and the other is if you’d like to just use cardstock and dress it up - and this is sized to fit on 12x12” paper. There’s one part about this cup that’s tricky to me - and it’s optional. I downloaded it from Creative Fabrica, but I’ll try and walk you through it as best as I can. I definitely need more practice with it. 😅 I’ll start with that piece since everything else is simpler. Get ready to make some whipped cream!
For the whipped cream, I contoured the middle so there was no cutout, and then I folded along each dashed score line. Then you kind of have to lock in the pieces together with the little curve that kind of resembles a mitten (at least to me, lol). It took me about five or six tries to get it, and once I did, I didn’t even know how I finally got it. Sorry, I know that doesn’t sound very helpful, but it does look super simple, and I’m sure I was just overcomplicating it. You just kind of have to play with it.
Okay, now onto the easy parts! I decided I wanted to emboss my cup sleeve to give it some character. This is optional, but I totally recommend it. I picked up some fall leaves embossing folders and pulled out my Sizzix machine. I ran each half of the sleeve into my machine, and once they were both super pretty and textured, I glued them together using the score tab to apply glue. Once that first tab was dry, I glued the other tab to the inside to complete the sleeve wrap.
Next, I grabbed my printed cup with the beautiful sparkly glitter and folded along all the score lines. Then I grabbed the two halves and glued them together before adding glue to the bottom tabs and securing the cup base in place. After the cup was completed, I grabbed my sleeve and placed it on the cup. It was also my vision to have a nice little pumpkin on the front of the sleeve, so I glued the layers together, added a piece of foam adhesive, and set it on top of the sleeve.
Finally, we have the coffee cup caps. The larger one will go on the top of the cup, but sits underneath the smaller lid with the straw hole. I folded along the score lines and added glue to the tabs that will go on the inside of the lid. For the smaller lid, I repeated the steps, but added glue to the tabs that would sit on top of the larger lid to secure it to that piece. Then, I glued the whipped cream to the top. Now the whole piece removes as one lid.
I really enjoyed making this and think it is a super cute gift box set to get someone in the fall spirit! You could fill the boxes with fancy hot cocoa supplies, candies, small gifts, or whatever you like! This would be especially cute for a fall birthday. A gift card even fits in the coffee cup!
I hope this project inspired you to Make Something Beautiful®. Follow me at @lacedesignsstudio_ for more party and paper decor ideas, and share your creations with Cardstock Warehouse on Facebook and Instagram! Tag your projects with #cardstockwarehouse to be featured in our stories!
Happy Crafting!
Amanda (@lacedesignsstudio_)