Chipboard box template maker

Beyond the Manual
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When making beautiful custom gift items like all of you do, you have to have some ways to present them. I’ll be making some items like this for holiday gifts. These are mini slate cheeseboards from Amazon. Sorry that I already lost the engrave settings, so don’t want to post my guesses here.

Slate

They are about 6x9" and now come in a pack of 6 for just over $4.00 per board. They have thin rubber feet on the corners, but I’ll be replacing them with thicker cork at the corners and in the middle so they can be used as serving trivets.

Since they come as a boxed set, how do you present them as a gift? If you have a Glowforge, some Hobby Lobby Mat Board and the Template Maker Website, you make a custom box.

Slate in Box
Slate in Box.JPG480×640 122 KB
Cut in Laser Bed

I’ve seen a lot of folks working in paper and cardstock and thought they might like this site that I haven’t seen discussed yet.

http://www.templatemaker.nl
It is a pretty sweet site for quickly making all types of tabbed boxes. From Milk Cartons, Stars, Rhomboids, Hearts, Pillowboxes, and even a Coffin Box for Halloween. They export in all of the most popular flavors; SVG, PDF, & DXF. Just put in the dimensions and hit preview. It’s so easy, even I can do it. The site even shows you the size material you’ll need to use their design as is.

Regular cardstock will work for many gift boxes, but I wanted something sturdier for the slate, so I went to my local Hobby Lobby and looked for Mat Board material in the framing section. They have a wide variety, with some colors costing about $9 for a 40x32" sheet. I picked up basic chipboard color in the same size for $3.99. If you are close to a Hobby Lobby and don’t mind daily stops, don’t forget to use the 40% off coupon for 1 item each visit. Or bring the family and have them all check out a single sheet using the online coupon! $2.40 per sheet is a really good price. The material I used for this box was .039". It cut well at 400 speed, 100% power. For the folds, I just used cuts at 500 speed and 55 power.

Edge Detail

Here’s a detail of the edge, folded away from the score cut. At these settings, the scores are a bit tough to fold at first, but I like the fact that they are much more solid than if you cut deeper. I think I’m going to like this site a lot. The only issue that you’ll run into is size limitations of the laser bed. Maybe not as big an issue for the Pro users.

I hope this provides some fun for all you Forgers.

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This is so useful–I’m a packaging geek, and having a resource like this will make my gift-overwrapping so much easier.

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That packaging really knocks it up a notch! :grinning::+1:

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Yes. Must. Wrap. Neatly…

The days of a small odd shaped gift thrown into a shirt box with a half pound of tissue are OVER! :smiley:

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This is awsome and love how you have a start to finish presentation gift all with the laser

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Great project. Love the packaging.

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Wonderful! I really like the idea of getting fresh mat board for making boxes. I just broke down a ton of Amazon boxes and while they are fine for prototyping, you wouldn’t want that logo splashed all over your presentation box. That would be too cheesy even for a cheeseboard!

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Amazon boxes are a no go for gift presentation. The material I used is more like the back of a pad of paper. Here’s the same template cut and scored on a shipping box. It is interesting looking; tougher to put together, and serviceable, but not gift presentation worthy.

IMG_3410

Edit: I do like your cheese pun though!

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i bet you could do some interesting things by painting the outside white and letting it contrast with the brown corrugated bits.

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If you have something small and flat you want to ship, and don’t trust your box cutter skills, the same concept applies to corrugated cardboard. Just wrap the box like a mummy in shipping tape.

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Oh, this is a brilliant idea! I wouldn’t have thought of using matboard for boxes. What a great resource…thanks for sharing!

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I am all about packing details! I have been known to keep packaging I love longer than the product itself (don’t even ask me how many apple boxes I have)

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Wonderful to see your project! Very well done!

I’ve used this site also with my Silhouette Cameo. It’s awesome!

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I’ve had a Cameo for years and just found this site. Really great to be able to easily cut this heavy material on the laser.

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Wow, Such a great idea! Love the cheese boards too!!!:thumbsup::blush::glowforge:

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I love it! I was actually just trying to figure out how I was going to package a graphic design project I’ve been working on and I think this gives me the answer I was looking for (at least for a prototype). Thanks for sharing!

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Glad that you may be able to use the ideas. The only issue is that size is limited by the laser bed. Sometimes you can play around with different styles and orientation on the template making site to get a fit. There is also one option to cut a box in separate pieces, but I use that as a last resort to avoid so much gluing and assembly.

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You will get some good use out of it, for sure!

I’m looking forward to cutting heavier material also. Actually … I just can’t wait!! :slight_smile:

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I’m the same way!

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Contact Cement is perfect for gluing the sides of a two piece design. Since the glued parts are straight and on the edge it’s easy to apply without worrying about your glue brush skills. Make sure you fold the scores first and allow both pieces to dry to the touch before assembling. Having it folded makes getting the alignment right the first time - critical since there isn’t a second chance :smiling_face:

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