Explosion Box Purse

This is another project that my stamper's club will be making in February. I first saw an explosion box purse done by the talented Kelly Gettelfinger and knew that I had to make one of my own. Below I have created a mini tutorial on how to make the base for the purse. If you have any questions, please post a comment and I will update my blog with the answers. Supplies are listed at the end of this blog entry.

Explosion Box Purse Base:

1. Start with a piece of 12” x 12” card stock. Score piece 4” in on all four sides.

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2. Score each of the corner squares diagonally from the corner to the nearest intersection of score lines. You can do this with a ruler and a stylus tool or bone folder, since this step may be difficult to do on your regular scoring tool.

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3. Score the East and West middle boxes, from the 6” mark on the edge of the card stock to the two closest intersecting score lines.

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4. Optional: Cut off all four corners on the diagonal. I like to cut off my corners on explosion boxes, because they become very bulky otherwise. This is especially true for the explosion box purse, because all the folds come together at the top.

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5. Create a purse topper. Here I used the top note die, but you can use any shape you like. The top flap should measure at least 4" across, if you want to hide all the folds at the top when the purse is closed. If you are putting a handle on the purse, it should be attached to the topper (my ribbon handle is hidden in the photo below). I used self-adhesive velcro to keep my purse closed. You may also wish to decorate the inside of your box with designer paper and flat embellishments.



Stampin' Up! Supplies: Punch Bunch Stamp Set; Kindness Jumbo Wheel; Paper: Green house Gala, Old Olive (124284), Chocolate Chip (102128), Baja Breeze (111352), Whisper White (100730); Markers: Pumpkin Pie (105115), Old Olive (100079), Chocolate Chip; Punches: 1-3/4” Scallop Circle (119854), 1-1/4” Circle (119861), 1-3/8” Circle (119860); Jumbo Handle (103661); Jumbo Cartridge (103678); Old Olive Ink Refill (100531); Pear Pizzazz Poly Ribbon; Big Shot (113439); Top Note Die (113463).
Other Supplies: Self-adhesive Velcro dots.

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Thanks for visiting!! I love reading your comments!!

Questions:
SheShe Asked, "I tried this but had the hardest time figuring out how to bring the box together, i couldnt figure out which pieces to close first/together. any pointers?"
First, make sure that you have scored all the score marks as indicated on the diagrams. Next, make sure that you have folded along all the score lines. Then take a look at the last photo of the tutorial and orient your piece the same way. Bring in the sides first (the tips of the side pieces will touch at the top when the purse is folded together. Next bring the front and the back together. The box should look like a triangle when viewed from the side. I hope this helps.