18th Birthday!

I don't know about you but I LOVE explosion boxes and always wanted to make one.  Finally I had the opportunity and I love how it turned out!  Let me know what you think.

I got my basic instructions from Magic Boxes. I love the work on that blog.  I adjusted it because I wanted a big box out of 12 x 12 - yes those are 4 inch sides.

Now I have seen dies that make 3D cakes.  I'm a cheapskate (well sometimes) and I used my Circle nestabilities to cut and emboss a circle inside.  I then made tiny cuts around the circle to the embossed line to make the cake top.  The fringe was used to adhere to a 1.25 inch strip of cardstock to create the height of the cake.  I scored 0.25 inches in and fringed it for attachment.

Now I thought I was being clever decorating the tiers before I put it together... lets just put it this way, I wouldn't do it that way again. My three layers of mirri gold, purple cardstock and red ribbon didn't really like being eased into a circle.  The cake topper is a circle diecut stamped and layered with a bit of red decorative wire that I had already made into a spring by spiralling it around my piercing tool.

On the box uprights I made sleeves for tags for each parent and brother to sign.  The color combo is a combination of the 18 year old's school and favorite soccer team - Purple, Red, Gold (cardstock & mirri). 

I'm still undecided as to whether or not I should have decorated the sides of the lid...









Ingredients
Finished Size - 4in x 4in x 4in
Cardstock - Neenah Classic Crest, The Paper Company, Revelations, Mirri unknown
Stamps - Kitchen Sink Stamps; Playful Numbers, Whole Family
Ink - Memento; Sweet Plum, Canteloupe, Lady Bug
Miscellaneous - Spellbinders Circle Nestabilities; Provocraft Cuttlebug Embossing Folders: Spots & Dots, Happy Birthday, Numbers; Sakura Red Stardust gel pen; Red Satin ribbon.