Sunday, October 28, 2012

Box and Christmas Tree Tutorial

Today I am the hostess for Hostess Monday over at Digital Delights.  I decided to try another tutorial and I came up with a great 3-D Christmas tree to used in a box scene.

I have had this scene on my mind for some time and I finally had time to work on it.  I got the tree idea from a card that a fellow blogger made last year. Her tree was flat, but I envisioned it in 3-D. The box is a typical Exploding Box with two sides glued together to form the room for the scene.



Box Instructions


  • My box is a bit larger than normal. Cut 3 pieces of the base cardstock 5" by 12".  Score all three at 5" width wise. The 5" piece forms the base of the box.  
  • Cut 1 piece of the base 5 1/2" by 12.  The extra 1/2 inch is to be glued to an adjacent piece. Score this piece at 5" width wise and the extra 1/2" on the long side.  Cut off the 5" portion of the long scored strip.
  • Apply strong glue tape to the 1/2" portion. 
  • Decorate the outside of the box sides.  I used Bazzill Red and DD Winter Wonderland digital paper.
  • Glue the larger box side to one of the other box sides so that they are securely connected.
  • Cut a piece in an alternating color for the box lid - 8 1/4" square.  Score this piece at 1 1/4" on all four sides. Cut through a short piece of the lid edge as shown.  At this point you might want to decorate the edges of the lid.  I used a Martha Stewart edge punch on my edges.
  • I decorated the outside of the box and lid with BossKut Poinsettias and lot's of leaves from MS Leaf and Cottage Cutz Greenery.
  • I also cut out circles and a lacy circle for the sentiment from DD Naughty or Nice Sentiment Set


Christmas Tree


To make the tree I used a paper cone base and lots and lots of Martha Stewart sprigs.


  • Cut a half circle of your tree base paper.  I used a dinner plate as my template. The radius of the tree should not exceed the size of your box so mine is 5 1/2".
  • Cut about 1/3 of the half circle away and apply strong glue tape to one edge.
  • Roll the half circle around until the edges overlap and secure the glue tape to the other side.  This makes a perfect cone that will stand on its own.
  • Next punch dozens of little sprigs. I used two different colors of green card stock.
  • Begin to glue the sprigs around the cone in rows.  You can also glue sprigs to sprigs to extend the width of the tree.
  • Keep gluing until you have covered the whole cone.



Creating the Scene

In my minds eye I wanted to create an indoor scene of the family decorating the Christmas tree.  One of my fondest memories growing up is of my mom and grand parents decorating the tree a few weeks before Christmas. They would dance around the room to wonderful music putting everything on the tree in just right place.  The room would sparkle from fire light bouncing back from the brightly colored ornaments and tinsel around the tree.  Fire crackled and the whole house smelled of cinnamon and fresh baked cookies.



When the lid is removed, two sides drop down to expose this wonderful scene. I plan to use this as a decoration on one of my side tables in December.



Here is the tree in the process of being decorated.
You can just see the Christmas Fireplace in the background .
Outside the house is the Post Girl delivering Christmas cards and letters.
She is greeted by the family dog! (the dog and lamp are from Carolers Accessories)


Joyful Joey will hang the candy canes on the tree.

The Christmas angel is played by Joyful Jamie suspended from the edge of the box with wire.

Wreath Racy hangs on for the fun!

The Christmas Kids are ready to decorate the tree.

A Touch of Christmas Sentiment Set

Ginger Baby enjoys the scene from the comfort of the hearth.

Ridley Stocking is hung by the fire.

A basket of cookies from the Carolers Accessories Set.
Well that is my Christmas scene with a box and tree tutorial.  What do you think?

Project Recipe
Images:  All images are Digital Delights
Paper: The base is made with Very Vanilla, the outside paper is Winter Wonderland and the paper inside is DD Baubles and Tree Paper Pack
Markers/Inks: Distress Brick Red and lots of Copics (my favorite reds - R32, R35, R37, R39, favorite greens - G20, G21, G24, G99, skin - E00, E01, Hair - E50, E53, E57, favorite blues - B93, B95, B97, B99, other colors to round out the scene include C1, C3, C5, C7, Y11, Y13, Y17, Y28, E11, E13, E15, E17, E18, E21, E23, E25, E27
Embellishments: Spellbinders Circle and Lacy Circle, Holly Accents, and BossKut Poinsettia die, MS Leaf punch, Cottage Cutz Greenery, Prima Pearls, Stickles red, gold and silver



Challenges for this Project:
Hope you enjoyed my two little tutorials today. It would be wonderful to see more of these Christmas trees popping up in blogland.

Have a Great Day!
NancyD

26 comments:

Faye said...

Hello Nancy. I saw your absolutely Fantastic Box on MIM. Faye

loz said...

WOW!!! This is STUNNING Nancy. Thanks for the fabulous tutorial. I definatly have to case this box..Saw this on MIM..Loz

Caroline said...

WOW your box is fantastic it must have took you ages. It's a work or art and is gorgeous. Caroline xxx

Lorraine A said...

Gorgeous creation Nancy !! all the details are fabulous !! BRILLIANT !! :-)

thanks for joining us on the ABC Christmas Challenge :-)
luv
Lols x x x

brenda said...

Well what can I say Nancy, such an inspiring post, absolutely beautiful work. I really need to give this a go, thanks so much for sharing.

B x

Dr Sonia S V said...

Nancy what a fabulous project..I love how you made the tree and the scene around it is so sweet and perfect!
Cheers
Sonia
cardsandschoolprojects.blogspot.com

Sandie said...

This is just totally amazing, very creative and I just LOVE it. I would love to make my 2 year old son something like this, for a special keep-sake he could pull out especially at Christmas time each year. Thank you so much for sharing.... warmest regards, Sandie

Wendy Hall said...

Totally adorable Nancy and such amazing details!
Hugs
Wendy (aka Louby Loo)

Annette said...

OMG this is such a great project. I love the tree.
Annette - Netty's Cards
Proud to design for ABC Christmas Challenge, Lili’s Little Fairies and Top Tip Tuesday.
xx

Scrappin Sista said...

Awesome project,so creative!!! Thank you for playing along with us this week at Brown Sugar in the "Anything Goes" challenge! We hope you decide to play along with us again!! Good luck!
Alice B.

Dorte said...

Such a fabulous Christmas project, it must have taken you hours to make! Awesome, and so many beautiful details and characters.
Thank you for playing in our challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge this time.
Dorte,x

Chrissy said...

Oh! Nancy, this just a pure delight to the eye...gorgeous work, I love that tree, and just love the scene you have created...fantastic.

Thanks for sharing with us at Make it Monday..

Luv CHRISSYxx

Debbie (Little Gingham Bear) said...

Oh my word - what an awesome surprise inside the box - the tree is brilliant - thanks for sharing with us at Fussy and Fancy Friday
Hugs
Debbie

Saumya said...

Phew!!!! thats some hard work....awesomely done...saw it from MIM

Linda Grady said...

Nancy, I met you in Savannah in May. I absolutely love your Christmas Tree box; you put a lot of work into it. Also, I do dollhouse miniatures and this is something that has been done in my other hobby, too. Yours is very nicely done. Great centerpiece for the holidays.

Unknown said...

As I was going through the gallery I spotted this and wanted a closer look. This is amazing Nancy, what you saw in your mind's eye and what you actually created. I LOVE THIS CARD!!! So glad you linked it up at MIM. ;)

Scrap Affair said...

Oh! NANCY! This is SUPERB! WOW!

Mary said...

WOWZERS this is absoulutely FANTASTIC! The work you put into this definitely shows...I am in awe :) Thank you so much for posting this tutorial :)

Thank you for playing along with us at Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge...good luck!

Hugs,
Mary

Glenda Atkins said...

Fantastic project, I am in awe!All the details and all the work that must of went into creating this gorgeous cration, wow! I especially love the tree,thanks for the instructions!
hugs
Glenda

Gorse Auto Detailing said...

Thank you so much for sharing with us at The Crafter's Cafe! This is incredible!!
I really appreciate all the details and the assembly tutorial: you make it seem like something even I could make! Simply magnificent!!

Stacie

Ann Whitfield said...

A stunning project Nancy, thank you for sharing it with us at Crafty Ann's
Ann x

Unknown said...

really stunning, thanks for joining Simply Create!!!

Lisa Minckler said...

This is INCREDIBLE!!!!! Just came over from Lisa S's blog and do glad I did. You are so sweet to show a tutorial, this is so wonderful..just can't stop starring at it!
Hugs,
Lisa x

Jen said...

Awesome project. A labour of love. Thank you for sharing with us at Crafty Ann's.
Jen x

Sazzle said...

Congratulations Nancy you've been hand picked as one of our Top 5 over at Fussy and Fancy :-)

If you fancy displaying our blinkie please pop over to the blog to grab it - thanks for entering and look forward to seeing you in future challenges!


xx Sazzle xx

Marianne said...

Wow, this is an amazing creation! It must have taken you ages to create. Saw your box being featured on the Fussy & Fancy blog.