A while back, I published the last of a six-book collection. A couple days ago, I got it into my head that I needed to put them into a box. I mean, what’s the point in a box set if you don’t have a box, right?
To accomplish this, I fell back on my old standby: illustration board and sticker paper.
A little tangent… You can build a lot with illustration board (pressed cardboard ~1/16″ thick) and sticker paper. For example, you can make a children’s board book…
Or a folding board game…
Or some custom ID badges…
But today, I needed to make a box. Specifically, I needed a box that could contain all six books, with maybe a bit to spare. So, I measured the stack of books and worked out the layout for the box.
On top of that, I overlaid a design, with tabs to wrap around the edges.
One tiny problem: The overlay works out to about 16″ square, and I don’t have access to a large format printer. Solution? Break it up into multiple prints, with enough overlap to cover any gaps.
OK, then. Time to assemble the box. I really would’ve preferred using paper packing tape, but I couldn’t find any. So, masking tape had to do.
After that, it was just a matter of wrapping the stickers around the box, and stuffing the books inside.
Lessons Learned
- My laser printer really hates sticker paper. It took me several tries to get a decent print.
- I probably should’ve cut each side of the box separately, and taped it all together. The folds make it look a bit wonky.
- Increase the size of the tabs to wrap around the edges of the box. I used 1/4″. Probably should’ve been twice that.
Still, though, it turned out fairly decent, and now my books have the home they deserve.
