Whether we like it or not, Christmas is fast approaching and as our thoughts begin to turn to gifts for loved ones, colleagues, employees or customers there is something else that we increasingly need to think about.
We’d have to have our heads in the sand to lack awareness about the need to reduce our consumption and waste and Christmas is the time of year when we all end up producing far more waste than we’d like, or than we should.
A large part of the waste produced at Christmas is wrapping paper. Much of it isn’t even recycled, let alone reused and the staggering fact is that, according to DEFRA, 50,000 trees are felled each year so that we can wrap our presents.
The answer, we believe, lies in reusing rather than recycling or ditching wrappings altogether and the best way to do this is to create gift boxes that are so beautiful that the recipients will either use them for storing items around the home or use them to give a gift to someone else.
Embossing gift boxes is a surefire way to turn a gift box from something that might get put out with the rubbish or recycling to something that will either be kept or reused with pleasure.
You can create embossed gift boxes yourself or you can get us at Furnells to do the embossing for you. We would certainly recommend this as an option if a) you are not particularly crafty or b) you have a large amount to make such as company gifts to employees or customers, or if you have a particularly large family!
What You Need
If you are going to make embossed gift boxes yourself you will need to following supplies:
- A die-cutting machine.
- Die cuts in the pattern, shapes or pictures you want on your bespoke gift boxes.
- Scissors.
- Straight edge or ruler.
- Glue.
- Card (size dependent on the size you want your boxes).
- Extra card (to absorb the impact).
- Box template (in your chosen size)
- Foam pads.
- Masking tape.
How To Make An Embossed Gift Box
- Begin by cutting out the box templates and scoring the fold lines.
- Set up your die-cutting machine as per the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Put a clear cutting plate on top of the platform (with tab one on the top).
- Add several sheets of the card before you add the die with the cutting side face up.
- Place the card that you want to emboss face down on top of the die using masking tape to hold it securely in place.
- Add a piece of foam on top to reduce the pressure.
- Add the second clear cutting plate.
- Operate the die-cutting machine.
- Repeat for the other bits of the ready-cut card for the other sides of the gift box.
- Glue the box together using the tabs and glue holding it in place with masking tape or clips until the glue dries.
Be Honest, How Did That Sound?
If you are a crafting aficionado, then that probably sounds like a piece of Christmas cake. However, if our easy guide seemed more like a not-so-easy guide, then let us do the embossing for you.
We’ve been embossing and engraving all kinds of items for customers in London and across the whole country for nearly 40 years and we’d love to help you out too.
Just get in touch with us at Furnells and we can help you create individual, reusable and memorable gift boxes for you and for our planet.