Valentine Treat Boxes

I'm one of those crafters who looks at empty food boxes and wonders how they can be repurposed.  Usually, I just cover the boxes with printed paper or card stock, but when I noticed that the Diamond Bakery cookie box was actually made from just one folded piece of card stock, I wondered if I could reproduce the whole box from 12x12 card stock.  I carefully took apart the box and laid it out flat.  Unfortunately, the width of the flattened cardboard box was slightly more than 12", the width of my largest sheet of card stock. 

Being a master box counterfeiter, I determined that if I cut the box template in half and overlapped the center by 1/2", I could fit the pattern onto a standard 12x12 card stock sheet. I traced this revised template onto the chosen Valentine 12x12 sheet and cut out the pattern. Using the original Diamond Bakery cookie box as a guide, I folded the box and amazingly it made a slightly smaller version of the original cookie box.  

I formed the box with the help of some double stick Heiko tape and then decorated the front and back with images from a sheet of Authentic 12x12 Valentine card stock (old stock from my stash) and recycled Xmas ribbon from a gift.

Here is a view of the how the box opens up.  I just love how the box folds closed without any Velcro or snaps other than the tab that fits into the slit on the front.

This is another version of the treat box. I used stickers from a $15 Doodlebug Valentine 12x12 paper pack to decorate the front and back of the box.

Also note that I used more of that same red leftover Xmas ribbon...yes, I save ribbons too...such a hoarder, I know.  Anyway, I hope you've been inspired to look carefully at containers before you toss them away.  They might provide great templates for a multitude of projects. Keep recycling and creating!