DIY Valentine's Day Candy Boxes

Valentine’s Day is my favorite holiday! Guess why? No, not Hallmark movies and romance - - Candy!! Valentine’s Day is when I can easily find all my sugary favorite candies in red, pink, and pastels. Cherry, strawberry, raspberry, watermelon, bubblegum. Let's be clear - - - I never met a candy I didn’t like. Really. Gummy anything, jelly beans, you name it - anything! When I can easily secure my favorites in Valentine’s Day colors (and in portion control packs), it makes me really happy.

What better way to celebrate this time of year than with the Valentine’s Day Paper Collection and color coordinated candy! I am excited to show you how to make a “Heart Candy” Valentine’s Day Box to fill with all your favorite sweets (yep, even those little chalky, heart things) WITHOUT an electronic cutting machine.

Blog Supplies: 

• Cardstock Warehouse Cardstock Papers
• Wild Cherry
• Razzle Berry
• Cotton Candy
• Bubblegum
• Pink Lemonade
• Punch Stardream
• Scoring Board & Bone Folder
• Scissors
• Paper Trimmer
• Corner Rounder
• Scor-Tape (½ inch or smaller)
• Liquid Adhesive
• Acetate (optional for clear window)
• Manual Die Cutting Machine (optional for clear window)
• Heart Shaped Die (optional for clear window)

To get started, you will need to trim one sheet of the Valentine’s Day Paper Collection. For the stripped box pictured above, I used a sheet of Bubblegum cardstock cut to 7.25” by 8.25”. Using your scoring board and bone folder, score the cardstock with the 8.25” side (landscape) running across the top of your board at the following measurements: .75”, 3.75”, 4.5”, 7.5”. Flip the cardstock so the 7.25” side runs along the top of your board (portrait) and score at: .75”, 1.5”, 5.75”, & 6.5”. The front and back middle panels of your box should measure 4.25” x 3”.  

Using two sticky notes, mark the right side as the front of the box, and the left side as the back of the box. Using the photos below as a guide, with your scissors remove all of the panels market with an X.    

Cut the tabs away from the box flap. Careful, you do not want to remove the tabs completely! Use the pictures below as a guide. Next, using a corner rounder, round the corners of the top and bottom flaps, as well as the side flap. You may have to fold your box on the score lines to round these corners!  Optional: Miter the tabs of the box by cutting a small angle off the sides of the box tabs. This will aid you in assembling your box.  

If you want to add a clear acetate window to your box to see your candy, use a heart-shaped die to cut a hole in the front panel of your box. The heart die should be centered on the box front 4.25” x 3” panel, and should be smaller than the panel.  

Note* you may need to fold the tabs on part of your box in order to fit the cardstock into your die cut machine. See photos below.  

Alternatives (no manual or electronic die cut machine): If you do not have a die cut machine, you can skip this step. If you would rather use an electronic die cut machine, you can simply use one of your shape tools in your die cut software to cut the heart in the center of the front panel!

Cut a piece of acetate to cover the heart hole you created in your front panel. Adhere to the inside front panel of your box with either liquid adhesive or scor-tape.  

DECORATING YOUR CANDY BOX

Here are a few design options for the front of your box (4” x 2.75”)

Option A: Stripes - Cut .25” strips of paper from each of the following cardstocks: Wild Cherry, Razzle Berry, Cotton Candy, Bubblegum, Pink Lemonade, and Punch Stardream.  Adhere the strips using liquid adhesive to a sheet of any colored cardstock. In the photo below, I adhered the strips diagonally to the cardstock, then cut the paper to make two (2) 4” x 2.75” rectangles. I also cut panel strips for the sides of my box - Two (2) each of ⅝” x 4” and ⅝” x 2 ¾”.  

For my box with a window, I then used the heart die in the center of the panel to line up with my front of my box. I adhered this new panel to the front of my box.  You can also skip the manual die cut machine and simply adhere your decorated panel to the front of your box without a window! 

Option B: I used a 3D embossing folder with hearts to emboss Pink Lemonade  cardstock before cutting the front and back panel into 4” x 2.75” rectangles. I also cut panel strips for the sides of my box - Two (2) each of ⅝” x 4” and ⅝” x 2 ¾”. I then used a heart die to cut through one of the panels (matching up the center of my box) and attached it to the box front using liquid adhesive. I adhered the back panel to the back of my card box (no die cutting).

Option C: I dyed my iridescent glitter paste purple using an ink pad refill.  I then used a stencil and the glimmer paste to create a heart pattern on Wild Cherry Cardstock. I then cut the front panel into a 4” x 2.75” rectangle and adhered the panel to the front of my box. I also cut panel strips for the sides of my box - Two (2) each of ⅝” x 4” and ⅝” x 2 3/4”.  

ASSEMBLING YOUR CANDY BOX

Use scor-tape to assemble your box. In addition to using scor-tape on the side flap of my box, I adhered the bottom flap of my box, and the bottom tabs to prevent the box from opening on the bottom.

Your candy box is now ready to fill with candy! I filled my boxes with hearts and jelly beans!  

Making your own Candy Box? We'd love to see! Show us your creations on Facebook or Instagram. Tag us using #cardstockwarehouse to be featured on our Instagram page!

Happy Crafting!

Traci Selig  

IG: @tracicrafty

Blog: www.tracicrafty.com