Designer's Choice 9 - Cutesy Charm Box Tutorial – Tonic Studios USA

Hello crafters, Dawny P here and welcome to the Designer Choice #9 step by step tutorial. This month’s gorgeous set is the Cutesy Charm Box and it is a stunner.

It’s a verso set and has 16 dies. There is a main die which will cut out your box and then 15 other beautiful dies for you to decorate with, including 3 tags which could easily double up as sentiments. The inside edge patterns are really nice and work so well with your Nuvo products. And you know those little bits of paper we all hang on to but never find a use for? Well this is perfect for those so dig them out and see what you’ve got.

You can stencil with these dies, double them up and you can add them to the front of your cards for a gift card with a difference. They are super easy to put together and take no time at all. Suitable for beginners and seasoned crafters alike, this is a set that will enhance your die collection.

Now this step by step is a little different from my usual ones. I’m going to show you two different ways that you can assemble the box – try both and see which way you prefer. The tutorial will focus on the construction of the box rather than the decorating side of it. But I’ve also put together one of my very short snapshot videos with a few different ideas for you to have a look at and there’s a link to that at the end of the tutorial and I hope you will find it useful and grab some ideas from it.

So let’s put one of these beauties together and for both assembly methods, we will start and finish in the same way. TIP - I would recommend decorating it whilst flat – it’s much easier.

Method 1

Step 1

Cut 2 of the main die

Step 2

Add tape to the little side tabs. You can use glue if you prefer and if so, don’t add it yet. I’ll tell you when 😊

Step 3

Crease the score lines as shown and add tape to one of the bottom sections only. This is actually on the ‘wrong’ side of the die cut. If you are using glue, don’t put that on just yet.

Step 4

If you are using glue, add it to the side tab (where the tape was in the second picture). If you have used tape, remove the backing on the side tabs only. Now fold up the long side panel to meet the tab so it looks like this. Do this for both pieces.

Step 5

Remove the backing tape from the bottom section and place the other piece on top. If you are using glue, add the glue to one bottom section and do the same. At this point, one side will still not be attached.

Tip

If you are using tape, it helps if you also add a bit of glue over the top if it so that you can side the pieces together.

Step 6

Remove the backing tape from the unattached side tabs and stick to the long bit. Or add your glue to that side tab now and do the same.

Tip

If you struggle to get the glue all the way down the tab, put some on a scrap of card, put it in between the sides and just slide it over the tab.

Step 7

Now use a bone folder etc and just press everything down, By sheer good luck, the Tonic bone folder is the perfect size to do this as it fits in there nicely and you can do both sides at once.

Oh dear. Somebody needs to clean her bone folder – hugest apols. But I guess it does show that I use it a LOT.

Step 8

Now take your clean or dirty bone folder and gently run it over those long side panels so that they curve inwards. This will help with the next step. You can use your hands to do this is you prefer.

Step 9

Now bend over the little butterfly tabs as shown here. Please note that your sides will be curved as per the last step. I left mine straight in this pic so that you could hopefully see more clearly.

Step 10

Now pinch the butterfly tabs together and push through one of the sider panel slits.

Step 11

And do the same with the other side. Press down gently to close.

Step 12

And there we are – one lovely little Cutesy Charm Box ready to fill with something nice.

Method 2