Fox and Friends in a box

My sister was studying for her med school finals this spring, and I'm so very proud of her, she has done an amazing job and passed with flying colours among the best of her year. I sent this little box card with Fox and his friends to cheer her on when she was studying for her last exams. This was quite a while in the making with all the different parts and lots of fussycutting. And so many ink pads as well! But I think it turned out to be a very cheery card.

These lovely cards-in-a-box have been popping up all over the blogosphere and pinterestosphere (yes, of course it is a real word, it's not like I would just have made it up). Using the measurements in the links, the card will fit into a 15.5x15.5 cm (6x6 in) envelope, so it can be mailed for the same postage as any other card. I don't know who originally came up with the idea, but I used this lovely box card with loads of animals from Mommy Stamper for inspiration. However, as the measurements in that blog post were in inches, and I feel more comfortable working in centimeters, I used this tutorial from Monica's passions. If you don't know how to make the card, instead of me explaining, just hop over to either of those blogs for a video tutorial. The centimeter card results in a bigger card as you use a sheet of A4 to start, whereas the card on Mommy Stamper starts with a 9x5 1/2 (22.8x14cm) in sheet of cardstock.

The process of creating the card involves some cutting and scoring. I don't have a scoreboard, I just bought some scoring tools (called Soft-Grip Embossing & Stylus set) online for a few quid and I use a ruler as a guide when scoring. Works like a charm, I really want to get a scoreboard at some point, but it hasn't made it anywhere close to the top of my wish list yet, so I am just sticking to this hack for now. Please refer to the videos on instructions for how to make the box, but once you know how to make it and just need a reminder of where to score, the scoring is at 7, 14, 21 and 28 cm and lengthwise at 7 cm and then cut at 15 cm. The size for the 4 papers at the top of the box are 6.5x6.5 cm and for the bottom you need three pieces measuring 6.5x7.5 cm. The longer piece at the back measures 6.5x14.5 cm.

For my card, I made the box from Stampin' Up Basic Gray cardstock and then it was just about stamping and fussycutting the cute little creatures and stamping the side panels with gorgeous grunge and adding the die cut letters.

Inks: Stampin' Up Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral, Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Pistachio Pudding, So Saffron, Strawberry Slush, Tempting Turquoise and Wild Wasabi
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Basic Grey, Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Strawberry Slush Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi and Hobbycraft white 160 gsm cardstock
Other: Tim Holtz Inside Out Alphabet die, Fiskars duck punch, Embossing tool from the Soft-Grip Embossing and Stylus set