Make My Day Camp: Explosion Box (Part 2

Monday, May 15, 2023

Explosion Box (Part 2 - Making the Layers)

A couple days ago I showed you how to make the base and lid for an explosion box - today it's making the layers. Next time I'll show you how I decorated the layers.

The base layer with the hearts in the corners started with a 12" piece of cardstock (for a 4" overall box). Every layer you add will be a little bit smaller than the one underneath it - so if your base layer is 12" square and scored/folded at 4", the second layer you'll place on top of the base layer is an 11 1/4" square, scored at 3.75" all around. You'll still have 9 squares and the center square (which is the bottom of the box) will always stay at 4". Third layer starts with a 10 1/2" square, score and fold at 3 1/2" all around. Note, still 9 squares with the middle one 4". Fourth layer is a 9 3/34" inch square and you'll score/fold at 3 1/4".

You can reference the size guidelines for each layer at 'it's always autumn' where I got the instructions for the base and lid.

For each layer - score and fold, creating the 9 squares, then remove the 4 corners creating a cross shape piece of paper, when you're done decorating the layers you'll stack them on top of each other.

In the following example I made the layers in different colors so you can see what's happening, for my finished product I made the layers in more neutral colors so they wouldn't compete with all my decorations and make it seem too messy:

see how each layer is a little smaller than the one underneath?

The instructions I followed to cut and fold all the layers say to now glue the center squares together and then decorate, but I found it easier to decorate each layer on it's own and then stack and glue them together. It was easier for me to work with individual layers.

Here's what I did for one of the layers - this part will be up to your creativity and ideas! Don't worry, I'll give you lots of decorating ideas next time - remember, your explosion box can be as simple or intricate as you want:

Once all of your layers are decorated and you attach them in the middle, you'll fold them all up together and put on the lid to hold them in place. Here's a picture so you get an idea of what I'm talking about!: