Neat & Tangled August Release

Hi everyone!  August is Neat & Tangled's birthday month which means that we run release week a little differently.  The number one difference is that the whole release is available in the store NOW - no waiting until the end of the week.  The second difference is that there's a week long blog hop with lots of guest designers with some big prizes up for grabs - one $100 credit and two $50 credits to the store.  There will also be some surprise giveaways on FB and IG, so be sure to keep an eye out on the N&T social media accounts.

For this release I have kind of a suite of items.  I started out by designing a gift card sized box and coordinating stamp set (Thanks So Much).  I know not everyone is into boxes, and I think that the stamp set is unique and versatile enough that I thought it would be perfect for use on tags as well.  But then I thought, maybe you just want to make cards and you just want some coordinating dies that go along with just the stamp set.  So this little smorgasbord of products was born.

Today I wanted to show off the boxes.  I had so much fun creating these and they are really quick and easy to put together.  I have a quick little step out for you:

This is what the box looks like when freshly cut.

You'll notice that the taps have a little connecting piece that you need to snip apart before you start to assemble.

One little tip - I do this whenever assembling boxes or 3-D items, I will flip the piece over, and using a embossing tool go over the score lines from the back.  This step isn't required, but I find that it makes it much easier when I am folding the piece up.  I have a score board, but I usually just use the cutting channel on my paper cutter because it's usually more easily accessible/locatable.

Once that extra scoring is done, before I do any folding I add the stamping/embossing using my MISTI (in case you're wondering if the colors are off they're not, my MISTI rulers are just super faded).

Next I add the adhesive.  I'm using Scor-tape.  Scor-tape is my go to for boxes, I never worry about things coming apart.  Start by adding them to the four tabs.

Now I start folding, I will actually fold along all of the lines at this point before I actually do any sticking together.

Finally, I pull the backing off two of the tabs, and adhere together one side of the box, and then repeat on the other side.  Once that's done, I add some more score tape to the inside of the side as well as the front of the box.

The inside flap is then folded down to create the finished look.  I think it works better to do the sides first and the front panel last.

And as the name suggests, a gift card fits right in there.

I couldn't just make one box, so here are a couple other variations.  For this one, I used the Gift Card Box Additions dies.  These come with a scored panel, a diamond shape, and then a mat for the scored panel.  For this blue box I cut the scored panel, then cut the diamond shape out of the center of it and adhered them to the top of the box where I had stamped/embossed a sentiment from the coordinating stamp set.

Finally, I kraft box because kraft boxes are probably my favorites.  This one I kept kind of tone on tone and simple using White Pearl Embossing powder and framed stamp with the score lines that mimic the die and another sentiment.

In the interest of not making this blog post the longest post every, I'm going to quit there today, but I'll be back with some more posts this week to show you some of the other products/ways to use them.

As always, I'm hosting some giveaways.  Leave a comment here to be entered, and head on over to my Instagram (@mprantner) for additional chances.

Thanks so much for visiting and be sure to head over to the Neat & Tangled blog to go through the hop and get your name in the draw for all the great prizes up for grabs this week.  And don't forget - all these goodies are available in the store today!