Making MtG (or any other card game!) Deck Boxes

I spent the weekend working on deck boxes. They're made to hold Magic: the Gathering decks, but they could really hold any cards you happen to have, including those Pinochle cards you have wrapped in a disintegrating rubber band in your junk drawer.

These are my two test boxes, since I wasn't positive that the measurements were perfect. Good thing, too, because they're definitely not perfect. The first box was made out of my yellow-green and gold vine paper.

There were problems with the hinge, so the lid of the box is a little too high at the hinge and juts out over the front. See?

Not to worry, though. I fixed that problem with my second box, so the hinge is the perfect size.

You can see that the lid isn't raised at the hinge, everything is flush (although the box is open a bit in the picture). The only problem with this one is that in the back, the spine is about 1/16" short. You can see that in the bottom left-hand corner of the picture. Hardly noticeable, but still there. The next one will be perfect.

Even when they're not perfect, I get so much satisfaction out of making something with my hands and seeing the finished product. And just the four boxes I've made show so much improvement.

Making a Box with a Tray: Green with Gold

My first box was fairly simple in comarison to the box I'm working on now. There were certainly fewer parts to cut out. This box will be basically the same, but it will be about 2 1/2" longer and the sides will be taller to accomodate a second tray. Most boxes made with a removable tray are jewelry boxes and don't have the dividers in the bottom, but mine will not be for jewelry, and there will be dividers in the bottom as well as the top tray.

The two most important things about box making and bookbinding that I would not have expected: math/formulas and labeling the pieces. But the paper and the process are the most fun parts. :)

My Awesome Find: Up-cycling Old Magazines

Yesterday on my way out of the office, I discovered an entire cart overflowing with old science magazines and journals. Now, if you've never seen a copy of Kidney International, you're missing out, but if you have, you know why I took as many as I could carry home with me. The microscopic photos on the covers vacillate between uber-cool and awe-inspiringly beautiful. I took a photo of a small sample last night, and even though the lighting's not that great, you can still see just how sweet these covers are. They're going to become the new covers of books and boxes, and I'm so excited to tear them apart and make them into something new and beautiful!

My favorite two:

Boxes, paper, and USB drives

I never seem to do everything I intend to do over the weekend. Time just doesn't move the way I think it's going to. :) I did finish the first box I started, and it turned out beautifully. I'll post pictures later. I don't have them with me right now because of what happened yesterday. Yesterday, I thought my entire creative life was ending; my little USB flash drive stopped working, and silly woman that I am, I haven't backed it up in a loooonng time. My partner saved me by jiggling it around a little in the USB port of my laptop and bending it so it tipped up long enough for me to drag everything from it and drop it onto my desktop. So... Everything is still there, it's just no longer portable. Guess I need a new flash drive. :(

The formulas for the second box are finished, so I'll be able to start cutting boards and papers tonight. I'm excited, because this box is the one I'm making for me, and I'll be thrilled to get my cards into a proper box. I'm making it with a gorgeous green paper with gold vines, and the inside will be a gold Lakta paper. Again, pictures to follow.

Edit: Here are a couple pictures of the box (the ribbons are to pull out the contents without dumping everything out):

And here's a picture of the paper I'm going to use for my box. :)

Box Making

I took a couple of basic bookbinding classes last year, and from what I learned there, I’m teaching myself how to make boxes. I’m pretty excited about all the ideas I have banging around in my skull.

The inspiration for box-making is actually uber nerdy, but I’m okay with that. I recently picked up some Magic: the Gathering cards and started to play. Now, if you play, you already know, but if you don’t, then one of the things you should know about these cards is that, unlike regular old playing cards, Magic cards come in packaging that really isn't meant to hold them for any longer than it takes for someone to buy them and take them out. No neat little box to slip them back into. They come with all kinds of packaging (I know, it makes my eco-self cringe too) that’s not meant to hold your cards after you take them out. So…What to do with those cards?

Option 1: Keep some in the flimsy, open plastic packaging they come in and figure out what to do with the ones that won't fit.
Option 2: Purchase a rather tacky deck box for each set of 60 cards.
Option 3: Keep them in a used Amazon.com box.
Option 4: Rubber-band them all together.
Option 5: Forget about it altogether and just leave them spread across the coffee table where they’re free game for the dog.
Option 6: Make my own box, customized with my own design, details, size, number of cards it holds, etc.

Needless to say, my crafty self immediately started fantasizing about glue and decorative papers, and I was sold. This is the tray just after it was glued together (this particular box is going to hold 1200 cards):