Armoire-shaped Box tutorial--Caardvarks Challenge

This started out as a shaped card for the latest Caardvarks challenge, but I guess the carpenter in me wanted to express herself, so it turned into a piece of furniture. It's a fairly large gift box now, measuring...

• 8 1/2 inches tall
• 5 and 1/2 inches wide
• 2 and 1/2 inches deep

There's a long tutorial down there on how it was made (in case you get the urge to build your own paper furniture!):O) Given the size, it might make a neat gift box for barbie or other dolls (with doll clothes hung on the front, heehee.) If you were feeling really ambitious, you could make it functional so the drawer opened. ;o)



1-Caardvark's challenge
2-create the armoire front & back pieces (shape & embellishment)
3-construct the box portion

-1-

Caardvarks' Shaped cards!

sponsored by...

Create a ***NEW*** shaped card! Anything but squares and rectangles goes! The winning card creator will receive a 3 month subscription to Scrapbook News and Review!

You can read all the details to play along here:

(and see the AWEsome shaped cards
created by the Caardvark Crew!!!) :O)

-2-

...create the armoire front & back pieces
(shape & embellishment)

• A lot of cardstock--(uses 2 full standard sheets-8.5" x 11" each--Sahara Sand SU)
• Thick acetate (the stuff here was cut from packaging)
• Ruler (I love Tim Holtz Design ruler)
• Hobby blade/exacto blade
• Sanding block

Adhesives:

• Oh so sticky tape (or other very good adhesive)
• Tombow monomulti
• and/or Crystal Lacquer (for wee areas)
• Foam tape

• Decorative brads and hinges (these were from the dollar store)
• Wire hangers (ebay purchase ages ago)
• Buttons (large one with black brad in center)
  

Step 1) Shape 2 armoire 'cards'

A) score & fold standard cardstock in half
B) score top & 2 sides at 2-8s inch in
C) trace & cut shape from bottom curve legs & top

Curved feet

can be found in this post...

Step 2) Set one of the armoire shaped 'cards' aside for the back.

Create the armoire for the front:

A) mark center line
B) cut out 2 doors.
C) Trim doors to leave about 1/4 of an inch (see scallop edge in step 8--I trimmed mine after the photo, sorry) ;O)



Step 3) Adhere thin frame to back of 'card' (leaving the doors free to open)



Step 4) Cut 4 panel frames (to make 2 doors)

These measure 2 inches wide by 7 and 3/8 inches high (but yours might vary depending on your scoring & cutting of the main armoire shape)



Step 5) Cut windows (acetate panels) & sand to distress them, if you like.

Cutting: my windows were just under 2 inches wide by 7 and 3/8 inches high
Sanding: I like to sand acetate since i know it's bound to get scratched up with handling, so this makes the windows look like the wear & tear belongs. (That's the theory, anywho.) ;o)

(free acetate) This is the packaging of grundgeboard cut up.



Step 6) Mark on fine wood grain lines (scrape the paper with an exacto knife, paper piercer or needle.)

Click the photo if you'd like to see the wood grain up close:



You could also cuttlebug emboss it, of course.

To assemble the doors...



Step 7) Adhere the back panel to the acetate (really good double-sided tape does the trick)




Step 8) Adhere the panel acetate side up (to the back or inside of the flap on the armoire shape)



Step 9) Add handle-put brad in the front panel



The brad ends will be hidden. :O)



Step 10) Adhere front panels (I got buckling where the big decorative brads were so I added a bit of Crystal Lacquer in with a pin & held it until it dried nice & flat.)



Step 11) Add hinges (these are dollar store hinges that attach with brads --i got them at the DollarRama store in Ontario)



Step 12) Adhere decorative panel inside



Step 13) Add Drawer:

A) Cut drawer (this one measures 1 inch high by 4 and 3/4 inches wide)
B) Score to make wood grain
C) Add handle (decorative brad)
D) Adhere drawer with foam tape

-3-

...construct the armoire box

• 2 full standard sheets-8.5" x 11" (in addition to the 2 used to make the front & back)
  
• The solid armoire card (set aside in the tutorial up there)
  
• Oh so sticky tape
• Scor-Pal
• Scissors
  

This box has two identical pieces to form the front & back of the box (which might sound complicated but is actually really easy peasy.) :O)

Step 1) Scoring with the paper on the horizontal (short): Score standard size cardstock at 2.5, 7.5 & 10 inches.

Step 2) Scoring with the paper on the vertical (tall): Turn on the vertical & score at 2.5 inches.

Repeat Steps 1 & 2 to score a second sheet the exact same way (for the back piece)

Step 3) Cutting of both sheets: Make 2 slit cuts at bottom & cut skinny piece off the side



Step 4) Assemble one half of the box



Step 5) Adhere the other half over top of the first



Step 6) Stick the uncut armoire card together (to make the back piece)



Step 7) Enforce all of the legs with scraps of cardstock cut to fit & doubled over




Step 8) Adhere completed box to the backs of the armoire 'cards'

and that's it...

Gotta love those Anyas ...

Click to check 'em out at

Paper Garden Projects

Info on how the image was coloured
(Copics on Gesso) is here:

Gesso lets you erase Copics!

The dress shaped template was printed on
gesso cardstock & embossed...

it can be found here

Hope there was somethin' fun here for ya! :O)

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