Shoebox: Paper Boxes

The basic box is made from two squares of paper. The top square is cut about 1/4 inch larger than the bottom one.

1. Find the center of the square by drawing diagonal lines on the wrong side of the paper from corner to corner (Figure B).

2. Fold one corner to the center, crease the paper well, then fold the folded edge up to the center (Figure C). Unfold and repeat this step with each of the other three corners.

3. Unfold and lay the paper flat (Figure D).

4. With the paper still wrong side up and one of the corners facing you, cut down the first crease to the left of the center crease. Cut to the third fold. Repeat this on the first crease to the right of the center crease.

5. Repeat these steps on the opposite corner (Figure E).

6. With the paper flat in front of you and the same corner still facing you, fold up the two side panels as far as they will go. Fold the two loose ends in toward each other and fold the panel in front of you up and over the folded-in loose ends and into the box with one triangle resting on the bottom. You will have formed three sides of the box.

7. Turn the box around so the opposite side is in front of you and fold the two loose ends in; fold the remaining panel up and over as you did the one on the opposite side. Top (or bottom) is completed! Repeat with the remaining square.

That’s the age old way of making the boxes. The only difference in Betty’s method is in the cutting. Instead of cutting straight down the sides of the squares, Betty cut through the first full square at an angle, cutting it in half.

9. Fold the two sides in the same way you did with the other box (Figure G). With the point facing you, fold the two sides in on this piece as well (Figure H). Fold it over the loose ends on the sides in the same manner that you did the other box (Figure I). That’s it. No raw corners (Figure J).