DIY RECTANGULAR MILK CARTON BOXES.

Do you remember these Diy Mini Milk Carton Gift Boxes I made back in January? They're one of the most popular things I've made so far this year. I'd been wanting to try and make a rectangular version for a while now but had been struggling to figure out how to do it when I came across this fantastic tutorial over on Pootles. It was exactly what I was looking for.

These boxes are a bit different to the normal milk carton boxes I've made in the past. Instead of sticking down paper flaps to make the base of the box the flaps make up the sides. I've never tried making a box like this before so a bit of trial and error was involved. I wanted each box to be big enough to fit 2 of the standard 37g bags of Maltesers inside. As the original tutorial was for a small 2.5 inch box I needed to tweak the measurements and proportions. The finished boxes measure 5 inches by 2 inches and are 4.5 inches tall. Read on to see how I made them and if you want more diy box ideas I can't recommend the Pootles blog enough. I know you'll love it.

Materials needed to make your own Diy Rectangle Milk Carton Boxes:

• Scrapbook paper ( I used the Diy Shop 12 x 12 pad from Crate Paper),

• A score board or embossing tool and ruler,

• A bone folder, 

• double-sided tape or paper glue,

• scissors

• And some mini wooden pegs or baker twine.

Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means that if you purchase through them I receive a small commission.

1. Trim your paper to 12 x 9 inches.

2. With the 12 inch side on the top (the long side) score lines at 0.5 inches, 2 inches, 5 inches, 7 inches, 10 inches and 11.5 inches.

3. Rotate your paper 90 degrees so the 9 inch side is now at the top and score at the 2 inch and 7 inch mark.

4. Fold along your score lines and use a bone folder to burnish the creases. This will help make sure all your folds are clean and sharp.

5. Cut along the 5 and 7 inch marks up to the 2 inch score line. It's marked in blue in the bottom right square above. This will make 2 square flaps.

6. Apply double-sided tape or paper glue to the 2 square flaps you've just made and to the 2 rectangle pieces to the right of both square up to the 0.5 inch score line (see square in top left).

7. The 9 inch side of your paper will form the top of your box and the 12 inch side will form the sides. Lay your paper flat. Lift one of the square flaps and stick it to the back of the rectangle piece that has the tape or glue on. Lift the flap with no tape and stick this to the glued flap. Do the same to the other side.

8. Take your box and squeeze the top together. The box should naturally fold in and stop at the score lines to form to triangles on each side of your box.

9. Use some mini clothes pins or tie with bakers twine to keep the top of your rectangular milk carton boxes closed and fill with treats.

Want more gift box templates? Get your hands on the Gift Box Template Bundle and you’ll be making your own gift boxes in minutes.

DIY SCRAPBOOK PAPER BOOK COVERS.

As promised here are my diy scrapbook paper book covers. I've got a shelf full of these old classic novels, they've been well read and well loved and sadly it's starting to show. I know in recent years a lot of the classics have been getting makeovers like this version of Pride Prejudice and this gorgeous version of Heidi and so I decided to give some of my old books a makeover of their own. I love how they turned out. In fact I love them so much I think I need to give all my books a makeover!

P.S. You can find more of my paper crafts here.

Supplies:

• Old Books

• Scrapbook Paper

• PVA Glue/PVA Glue

• Paintbrush

• An Embossing Tool

• Ruler or Scoring Board

• Craft Knife

• Cutting Mat

• And some stickers and washi tape to decorate.

The above links are affiliate links. This means that if you click on them and make a purchase I receive a small commission.

1. Line your book up with the top of the scrapbook paper and mark the bottom of the book. Trim your paper to size. You want the cover to fit as precisely as possible.

2. Lay your book down flat on your trimmed paper and score along the spine using an embossing tool.

As we're covering old books that can be warped and uneven I found it worked best to score along the actual book rather than measuring and using a ruler.

3. Lift your book up on it's spine and line it up with the previous score line. Score along the edge of the book spine.

4. To make sure your cover will open smoothly score 2 more lines a 1/4 inch out from the 2 you've just scored.

5. Check your new cover fits your book. You want to make sure the cover is the same height as your book. Don't worry about the paper overlapping the edges at this stage, we're going to fix this later.

6. Apply a thin layer of glue to your book cover.

7. Stick your cover to your book. I found it worked best if I laid the book down spine first onto the paper and then lifted the sides up. Make sure to smooth out any creases.

8. Leave to dry. To stop the book covers bending up as the glue dried I left mine to dry overnight under a stack of heavy books.

Once dry if your book covers are still a little curved you can always gently bend them in the opposite direction to straighten them out.

9. When dry use a craft knife and ruler to trim away any excess paper.

10. Decorate your scrapbook paper book covers. I used some white alphabet stickers, pink washi tape and some Cath Kidston labels to decorate mine. I really love how the white stickers look against the neon pink washi tape.

Find more diy and craft projects and inspiration over on my Pinterest board.