Teacher Gift: Teacher's Table Trio with Tutorial

Hi friends,
The good life is over :( Yes, it's time for me to slip out of my beach sandals & strap on my lanyard--- back to school time! Don't get me wrong, I feel very fortunate & blessed to have a job to go back to, especially here in Southern California, but I'm going to miss having as much free time to craft as I do during the summer. For some reason, the word is out that I'm a teacher -wink ;) so I've had lots of questions about teacher gifts. Typically, I don't get any gifts at the beginning of the year. I usually get gifts at holidays & the end of the year. But to help out those of you that want to start the year off with an "A+", I've come up with a few inexpensive, practical, & uber cute projects & ideas to share with you that I feel are appropriate for the beginning of the year. Each day this week, I will share one project with you. I'll provide instructions or a tutorial so that you can complete any projects that tickle your fancy. Sound good? Ok, today I'll begin with the first Teacher Gift. I call it:

"Teacher's Table Trio"(You'll see why in a minute.) I have to tell you I am sooooo smitten, giddy with excitement, gushing over this one! I don't mean to sound braggy at all. But in the words of a local radio DJ "It's AWESOME- with awesome sauce on top!" I have projects in my head & I just don't know how they're going to turn out until they're done. That's kinda what happened with this one. In a way, I'm a Crafting Osmond- one take & it has to be right! (I just saw an interview with them & it's stuck in my head!) I just don't have time to redo something a bunch of times. OK, 'nuff babbling let's get on with the deets shall we:

Here's what you'll need:
one 12" x 12" cardstock (Boxes)
one 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock (Wrap)
Scor-Pal or Trimmer with scoring tool
Strong adhesive of your choice (Scor-Tape, Sticky Strip, or Wet glue)
Everyday Adhesive (ATG)
Embellies of your choice

First, cut your 12" x 12" CS into four (6" x 6") squares. Take 3 to make your boxes & set 1 aside (don't get rid of it, we're going to use it later.)
Score the 6" squares at 1 1/2" on all four sides.
(FYI, I'm using white so you can see it, but once assembled it will be red)

Cut on the score lines, & trim the tabs as shown.


Assemble the box with strong adhesive. Make 2 more boxes for a total of 3.

Add strong adhesive to one side of 2 boxes- edge to edge (as shown) & adhere them together (sticky side to another box non-sticky side) making sure they line up & there are no gaps between boxes.

Add strong adhesive to the back & bottom of the boxes & set aside.

Now it's time to work on the wrapper.
Take your 8 1/2" x 11" CS & cut the 11" side to 10 1/2" if creating a border or 10" if leaving it with straight edges. Score at 3 1/2" & 5" & then move your paper over about 1/16" & score again. This is to create a little space needed so the lid closes properly. (This is the tricky part).
One side will be a tad longer (that's your lid).

Now you can use your border punch all the way around the CS. NOTE: If you use a border punch, you will have a small border around your box depending on the depth of the punch you're using. If you want a bigger border, you'll need to use larger size paper. Fold on the score lines & crease well with bone folder.

Remove adhesive backing from the back of the boxes & adhere flushed, as closely as possible, to the bottom edge of the middle part of the wrap, centering it. Press it down, careful not to rip it. (Yikes, I think I forgot to take a pic of this part, sorry :( Basically, you're sandwiching your boxes in between the top & bottom panels.

Remove adhesive from the bottom of the boxes & adhere to bottom part of the wrap. When complete, it should look like this: (front view)
I cut a piece of chipboard 2 3/4" x 9" to weigh down the lid, this way it won't flap open. No chipboard? No problem. Just cut a back piece of a paper pad, cereal or cracker box.

Next, I used a white Painters Pen around the edges so the chipboard wouldn't show. Then I cut white CS the same size & adhered it to the chipboard. I cut a piece of Patterned Paper a bit smaller & adhered that to the white CS (as shown).

Adhere that to the box top, & it should look like this:Stick a fork in that- 'cause it's DONE! Your box is complete! Now to dress it up...

I added a ribbon all the way around the box and through the ribbon tag label. I used my most fav teacher stamp set (next to Teacher Anya, of course) called Teacher's Apple from Papertrey Ink. I luuuuv this set! It's a must have, really. I stamped "Teacher" with Riding Hood Red & tied a knot.
Now grab that 4th square of red paper sitting on the sidelines & get it in the game. I die cut 3 apples, inked the edges & added a little shine detail with my white gel pen. Pop them onto a scalloped square cut with my Nesties. I inked around the edges with Soft Sky. Popped that onto the box. When in doubt, layer baby, layer! I also inked the sentiment from Teacher's Apple & layered it the same way.What's that you say? I said 3 apples but I only used 2. So observant of you! Where is that third apple?

Wait for it...


Wait for it...


BAM! I added it to the inside of the lid! I cut another piece of the same Patterned Paper & inked the edges with white. Make sure you put it so that when you close the lid, it will sit in one of the boxes, not on an edge (or the lid won't close all the way.)

I filled it with the top three things I reach for (besides milk chocolate, white chocolate, & dark chocolate!) That's paper clips, rubber bands, & staples. I designed these boxes to hold a good amount of supplies. It's not practical if it only holds 5 paper clips, ya know what I mean!
It also will hold 3x3 Post it Notes -exactly. You can add whatever little goodies you'd like. You can make fewer or more than 3 box compartments if you choose. But I like 3. Three is a good number :)

Here's a peek at the back. It's finished on all sides :)


Here are a few peeks at the completed project once again: (After seeing these pictures, I fixed the ribbon. It was bugging me. Looks much better now IRL)
You could personalize the ribbon tag with the teacher's name. What teacher would not luuuv this? Wowza! You should see all the ideas that are spinning in my head that I want to create using my Trio box. But, that will have to wait for now my friends... that will have to wait.

But wait! There's more. I also created a little card to accompany this cutie. ETA: Pic is updated (much better :) I used the same elements I used to create the box. The apples were punched from the same piece of PP used for the box. It was double-sided paper so I used both sides for the apples. (One side is numbers, the other dots.)

Well, that's the end of Teacher Gifts: Day 1. One down, four to go. I hope you like my little projects today. I worked super hard to create this & I'm happy to share this tutorial with you. Would you pleeeeease take a few seconds to leave me a comment & tell me what you think? What goodies would you add? Let's share! This will give other readers more ideas of what they can do with this box & what they can fill it with.

Thanks so much for peekin' at my projects today! I'm off to clean up my mess. Creativity is not next to cleanliness! At least not for me :)--- Gotta go!


The 411
Stamps: Teacher's Apple- Papertrey Ink
Paper: Red CS (don't know the name)- Bazzill, Soft Sky CS, Kiwi Kiss CS- SU!, White CS-GP, Teacher's Pet: Number Cruncher PP- Imaginisce
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Soft Sky, Kiwi Kiss-SU!, Black- Versafine
Tools: Apple die- Sizzix, Square & Scalloped Square- Nestabilities, Ribbon Tag Trio- Spellbinders, Signo White gel pen, Apple Punch- Martha Stewart, Scallop Square Punch- EK Success, Scallop Border Punch- SU!
Other: ribbon, dimensionals