Sweets for My Sweet!

It's time for another i {heart} papers design team challenge...we're playing with Mint Motif stamps.  The set I'm sharing is Sweet Hearts...the fun little gum ball dispenser in this set gave me the idea to find a way to display and dispense gum balls right from the front of a card!  I have constructed a little box with a hidden internal mechanism that slides open to let out all that sugary goodness!

My post is actually a combination of two challenges and a tutorial.  

• ihp challenge:  be inspired!  Visit the blogs of my design team mates, and let their creativity inspire you to create whatever your heart desires, so long as you use products available from ihp!  Link your creation on Kate's blog!  One lucky winner will have their design published on Kate's blog next Tuesday!
• Paper Craft Planet 3d156:  Make a candy dispenser!  You can follow my instructions here, or come up with something of your own!  Mine dispenses gum balls but it would be easily adapted to dispense jelly bellies from the Easter Bunny! Upload to the PCP gallery with keyword 3d156.

Making the box is easy, and the mechanics are all hidden inside.  The pull-tab protrudes from the fold on the right side.  The actual card front is a separate piece adhered to the front of the box with dimensional adhesive.

Don't let the length of this post keep you from giving this a try! It was much harder (and wordier!) to describe than it is to do!  The only complicated part is getting the openings of the box, pull-tab, and card front to align.  Just refer to the pictures as you follow along and don't get confused in your orientation left-right, inside-outside!  While the photos don't display every step, they show enough for you to get the gist!  Jump in!  Come on!  ;)

Begin with a 6 3/4 x 8 inch piece of card stock, then score 1/2 and 1 1/2 inches from each side.  Trim an L-shaped piece from each corner and cut along one fold to make flaps (see the photos).  Once the inside mechanism has been constructed, this piece will be adhered to a mat to form a box, and then that is adhered to a standard sized top-folding card.  For now we'll leave the box flat and set it aside to work on the pieces of the mechanism and the card front.

Cut a 3 1/4 x 1 1/2 inch piece of card stock.  With the long edge along the top of the Scor Buddy, score at 1 and at 2 1/8 (the dot on the Scor Buddy), then rotate the piece 180 and repeat.  Glue the flaps together to form a flat tube.  Once it's dry, cut it into two pieces (1 inch for the left, 1/2 inch for the right) to form the guides for the sliding tab...those 1/8 inch sides give just enough room for it to move without so much friction between surfaces.

Although the opening for the gum balls must be centered horizontally and toward the bottom of the box to function properly, the images you're using will dictate where it should be positioned vertically.  I chose to make a separate card front (to be adhered later), and decided upon my image placement before cutting the opening through all three layers at once with a small Spellbinders circle die.  Next I aligned the card front on top of the still flat box front, traced through the circle, then used a template to perfectly align the die and cut the opening on the box front.  (If you're using a narrow die-cutting machine, you may need to fold the outermost flaps under to get the piece to go through).

The slider must have an opening too, so the next step is to decide where it should go.  The easiest way to align this piece is to place it on the inside of the box front with the long edge parallel to the scoring along the lower edge of the box.  Carefully lift these pieces in this position to the light to make certain everything is centered relative to the opening...the left edge of the pull tab should be aligned with the innermost fold on the box.  Lay it down again, right side up, and make a light tracing of the circle to show where your stamped image will go when the pull tab is in the closed position.  Flip it over and mark on the inside where the tab crosses the fold of the opposite side...use a blade to cut a slit right on the fold for the tab to pass through to the outside.  Slide the guides onto the pull tab (refer to the pictures for placement...the bottom of the box is to the right)!  No need to pass the tab through the slit quite yet!), making certain that the narrower guide on the right (toward the slit) will not obstruct the opening.  Glue the guide on the right into place, but do not adhere the one on the left just yet!  (Remember that what appears to be "left" on the inside, near the bottom of the above photo, is actually the right side of the card!  Don't let this confuse you!)

Notice that, when looking at the box from the front, the hidden opening on the tab is to the left of the stamped image that is visible when the tab is in closed position.  Gently pull the tab to the right until it hits the stop, and after making sure the long edges are still parallel to the box bottom, lightly trace through the opening.  Remove the tab, die cut the opening, then slide the tab through the guide and the slit.  Slide the wider left guide into place..again, make sure it is not visible through the opening, trim if necessary, then adhere to the box.  It's easiest to align and adhere the decorative card front to the box while it is still flat.

Adhere i {stick} papers tape along three of the long edges.  Fold the box and adhere to a 4 x 5 1/4 inch mat, taking care to keep the box "square." Finish embellishing the box front, and then adhere the entire piece to a standard top-folding card.

Notes:
Mint Motif Sweet Hearts
Scor Pal/Scor Buddy
Memento Tuxedo Black ink (stamped off)
My Mind's Eye designer paper
Copic markers (colors, plus neutral grays to shade)
Spellbinders classic circle nestabilities, large and small, scalloped heart dies
i {stick} papers red line adhesive
Mono multi-adhesive
dimensional adhesive
light pink crepe ribbon
Kaiser Craft pearls (argh, one fell off and was lost...the last one I had of this size/color!)
jute thread
button, pearl bauble from my stash

Visit my i {heart} papers design team mates for more inspiration...and don't forget to link your project to Kate's blog!

• Carolyn
• Gretchen
• Loretta
• Lori
• Lynn
• Tracy
• Kate