How-Tuesday: Matchbox Valentines

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julieincharge

Story by Julie Schneider

Published on Feb 02, 2010 in Make

Whenever I encounter paper lace, glitter, rosy patterned paper, and all the trappings of a classic handmade valentine, I am immediately transported back to my elementary school days. I would sit at the kitchen table with my mother, armed with a bottle of glue and a pair of scissors, and methodically and democratically (and sometimes against my will) make valentines for every kid in my class. Each little missive would be deposited in our custom crafted shoebox mailboxes at school the next day, surrounded by a group sugar buzz.

We had such a great time at Craft Night last night gluing and snipping that I decided to invite Rachel Johnson from Swap-bot back to share all her tips and tricks for constructing matchbox valentines for How-Tuesday this week. When Rachel shared her project idea with me, I knew I had met my crafting match! Read on for all the knowledge that you need to make a tiny gift that will surely help you ignite a Valentine’s Day romance.

Altered matchboxes are small favors or gift boxes that can be decorated in any style or theme — including Valentine’s Day! Some crafters decorate real, empty matchboxes, but if you don’t have any of those handy you can create the little boxes from scratch using one of the free PDF Matchbox Templates available below. The small paper boxes can be decorated with patterned papers, ribbon, and other small embellishments, and filled with a Valentine’s Day message or a small gift. Matchboxes are a popular item to swap on Swap-bot.com. If you are interested in trying out a matchbox swap, come join the February Love Matchbox Swap.

Supplies Needed:
  • Matchbox template (Download the traditional or envelope-style template below.)
  • Thick card stock and/or light cardboard, like a cereal box
  • Pencil
  • Scissors and/or craft knife
  • Bone folder or other scoring instrument
  • Ruler
  • Glue
  • Decorative papers and other embellishments for decorating your Valentine box
  • Optional: printed matchbox enclosures cards template to create cards and booklets to go inside your matchbox
Download Traditional Matchbox Template here.
Download Envelope-Style Matchbox Template here.

Matchbox Instructions:
1. Print out template at 100%. Do not use the “fit to paper size” option in your printer settings or your matchbox will not be the correct size. You can print the template directly on the card stock you will use to create your matchbox, or you can print it on scratch paper and then trace it on a light cardboard or other stiff paper.
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2. Cut along all black lines, score and fold along all gray lines.
3. Apply glue to the light gray areas of the inside drawer.
4. Fold the sides of the inside drawer in on themselves (they will be end up being double thick) while tucking the tabs into the folds of the shorter sides of the drawer.
5a. For the traditional-style matchbox: Fold the outside wrap around the inside drawer to make sure it is the right size. Then, remove the inside drawer and glue the wrap in place.
5b. For the envelope-style matchbox: Fold the outside wrap around the inside drawer while folding in its bottom and tucking in the tabs. (I suggest test folding the outer wrap around the inner drawer at first, then removing the inside drawer and doing the final fold with glue. This fold is a little tricky as you must tuck in the tabs and the final side.) Glue it in place. The flap on the right side of the outside wrap template is the matchbox’s envelope closure. Fold it over the top of the box and secure it with a seal or ribbon.
6. Decorate your matchbox! (Swap your matchbox creations on Swap-bot.com for added fun.)
Booklet Instructions:
With Valentine’s Day coming up, I wanted to create some little cards that can be slipped into these pretty, decorated matchboxes. Matchboxes make a sweet and inexpensive handmade gift — fill them with some candy and a little note and you are sure to put a smile on your loved one’s face!
I came up with three very easy card types that fit perfectly into the boxes created using either of the Matchbox Templates from above. On the Matchbox Enclosure Cards PDF you will find a simple folded card, an accordion-style card/booklet, and a more complicated 8-page folded booklet. Follow the steps below to create the folded booklet.

 

Download the Matchbox Enclosure Cards PDF here.

1. Print out the Matchbox Enclosure Cards sheet at 100% (not “fit to paper size”). You may want to print it on scratch paper first to try out the booklet fold or to trace the enclosure card shapes onto patterned paper. Or, you can print directly on a light card stock that matches the theme of your matchboxes. The folded and accordion cards are self-explanatory: simply cut along the black lines and score and fold at the gray lines. Do the same for the booklet template. Notice the cut line through part of the center of the booklet.

2. Fold booklet in half lengthwise.
3. This part gets a little tricky. Pull out the two center pages (on each side of the cut center area) at their folds to create two pages. The “spines” of page 6/5 and cover/2 will end up touching.

4. Fold the cover and back page around the other pages to create the booklet.

5. Press the folds using a bone folder or other tool.

6. Decorate your pages or write a little zine. Then, place your booklet inside you matchbox and give it to someone you love!

Thanks to Rachel Johnson and Swap-bot.com for sharing this project with us. For more projects and craft swap projects, check out Swap-bot.com.

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