Make a Snow Globe Gift Box for a Holiday Surprise!

Instructions

STEP 1: GET MY FREE SNOW GLOBE GIFT BOX DESIGNS

First, download my Snow Globe Gift Box files from my free library – look for Design #773. Alternatively, you can use the Save This Project form near the top of this post and the design link will be emailed to you.

In the SVG folder, you’ll find “score” and “noscore” versions for the “snowflake” and “tree” variations of my design to cut on a cutting machine. There is also a DXF folder with cut files, and a PDF folder with versions you can print and cut by hand.

Upload the SVG file you need to Design Space to get started. The “score” versions require a Scoring Stylus or Single Scoring Wheel, but give smoother results. I recommend using the “noscore” versions if you’re using shimmer cardstock so the lines will be easier to see and fold.

TIP: If you’re not sure how to upload, go to jennifermaker.com/svgs to learn how to unzip and upload SVG files.

STEP 2: PREPARE AND CUT YOUR SNOW GLOBE GIFT BOX DESIGN

CRICUT DESIGN SPACE

1. In Cricut Design Space, open a blank Canvas.

NOTE: If you’re new to using Cricut Design Space, go to cricutkickoff.com for my introductory tutorial on Design Space basics.

2. Click “Upload” and then “Upload Image.”

3. Click “Browse.”

4. Select the SVG file of your choice.

NOTE: I’ll pick the “noscore” version of the “tree” design, and note any differences in the “snowflake” design.

5. Click “Open” and then “Continue.”

6. Click “Upload” to add the design to your Canvas.

7. Click the minus (-) icon in the lower left corner to zoom out and see everything on your canvas.

NOTE: For the “tree” design, you will see:

A red base piece with small tabs

A red circle bottom piece

A red lid piece with large tabs

A white “Happy Holidays” with lace trim vinyl design

Six green tree pieces and six yellow star pieces

NOTE: For the “snowflake” design, you will see:

A blue base piece with small tabs

A blue circle bottom piece

A blue lid piece with large tabs

A white “Let it snow” with snowflakes vinyl design

Six blue snowflake pieces and six white vinyl snowflake designs

8. Click “Save” and give your project a name.

9. Ungroup the design.

10. To change a piece’s color to match the cardstock or vinyl you’ll cut it from, select it, click the Color Box next to “Operation,” and choose a new color for it.

11. If you’re cutting the “noscore” version of the gift box, your project is ready to cut! If you’re cutting the “score” version, follow the steps from my scoring tool tutorial to adjust your file.

CUTTING

1. Make sure the correct machine is selected in the top right.
2. Click “Make.”
3. On the Prepare screen, make sure the correct Material Size is selected for your mats.NOTE: I’ll use “12 in x 12 in” for my vinyl mat and cut my vinyl down to size. I’ll use “8.5 in x 11 in” for my cardstock mats.
4. When you’re satisfied with your mat layouts, click on Mat 1 so it loads first on the next page, then click “Continue.”
5. On the Make screen, set the Base Material for your first mat. Mine is the vinyl mat. I used the “Value Vinyl” material setting with “More” pressure.NOTE: I don’t recommend cutting your decals from glitter or metallic vinyl since using StrongGrip transfer tape to apply them can damage the cardstock.TIP: Changing the Pressure to “More” results in a cleaner cut.
6. Use a paper trimmer or scissors to trim your vinyl to cover the design area shown on the screen, plus an inch or so of buffer.TIP: You can save smaller pieces of vinyl for other projects.
7. Place your vinyl pretty side up on a green StandardGrip machine mat so it covers the design area on your screen.
8. Use a brayer to make sure it’s fully adhered.
9. Check that your Premium Fine-Point Blade is clean and in the clamp.
10. Press the flashing “Load/Unload” button to load the prepared mat into your Cricut.
11. Press the flashing middle button to begin cutting.
12. When it has finished cutting, don’t unload the mat right away. Gently lift a corner of the material to make sure the cuts went all the way through the material. If not, press the middle button again to make a second pass of cuts in the same spots.NOTE: For vinyl, cuts should go all the way through the material, but not the carrier sheet. TIP: If you have any issues with your cuts, go to jennifermaker.com/cleaner-cuts.
13. When the cuts are complete, flip the mat over onto your work surface, and roll it back to release the vinyl with its carrier sheet.
14. If you cut the snowflake decals, use scissors to cut them into six individual pieces.
15. When you get to your cardstock mats, don’t forget to update your material settings. I used: "Medium Cardstock - 80 lb (216 gsm)” with “More” Pressure for my 65 lb. cardstock pieces (base pieces and tree pieces)"Heavy Cardstock - 100 lb (270 gsm)” with “More” Pressure for my shimmer cardstock pieces (snowflake pieces and star pieces)
16. Place your cardstock pretty side up on a green StandardGrip machine mat.
17. Follow Steps 8-13 above to cut your cardstock mats.TIP: Use the spatula to help lift delicate parts, and your weeding tool to poke out small bits of cardstock that are still attached to your cut pieces.
18. Use a scraper tool to remove the small bits of cardstock left on your mat after you remove the cut pieces.
19. Lay out all of your cut pieces face up.TIP: Refer to the Design Space screen if you’re not sure about some pieces’ orientation.

STEP 3: ASSEMBLE YOUR SNOW GLOBE GIFT BOX

WEED YOUR VINYL BASE DECORATION

1. Lay the decal vinyl side up on your work surface.
2. Use a small piece of painter’s tape or masking tape to carefully pull away the small bits inside the design.TIP: Make sure you do not pull up any pieces you want to keep! If they come up, gently pat them back in place and try again. Refer back to the Design Space screen if you’re not sure which pieces to remove.
3. Use your weeding tool to remove the larger pieces of vinyl, trimming with scissors as you go to prevent the vinyl from sticking to your decal.
4. Use your weeding tool to remove any remaining unneeded sections.
5. Cut a piece of StandardGrip transfer tape just larger than the vinyl decal.
6. Lay the decal vinyl side up on your work surface.
7. Remove the backing from the transfer tape, then pat your fingers on its adhesive side to lessen its stickiness and prevent damage to your cardstock.TIP: You can also stick the transfer tape to a cloth or your clothing and peel it back up several times to lessen the stickiness.
8. Hold your transfer tape in the shape of a “taco,” sticky side down, then center the bottom of the “taco” onto the middle of the decal.
9. Smooth the transfer tape over the decal from the center outward and burnish it down using the scraper tool.
10. Flip your vinyl over and burnish the other side, then gently peel away the backing.TIP: If any pieces of the decal cling to the carrier sheet instead of transferring to the tape, lay the sheet back down, burnish the area with your Scraper, and carefully try again.NOTE: To reverse weed your decal, follow Steps 1-2 above, then Steps 5-10, then Steps 3-4. I recommend only reverse-weeding the “Let It Snow” vinyl decal for the “snowflake” design.

ASSEMBLE THE GIFT BOX BASE

1. Lay the lid piece (the one with large tabs) in your work area with the tabs pointing upward.
2. Hold your transfer tape sticky side down and lightly center the decal on the lid piece, with the top of the design directly under the tab crease lines.TIP: For easier alignment, you can cut the decal into two sections, then align them one at a time along the top and bottom edges of the lid.
3. Once the decal is in place, burnish it firmly onto the lid piece, starting in the center of the design and working your way out.
4. Starting in a corner, slowly and carefully peel the transfer tape away from the lid piece, burnishing down any vinyl that lifts from the surface as you go.TIP: It can be helpful to pull your transfer tape parallel to the cardstock while peeling it away.
5. Use scissors to trim away any excess vinyl at the ends of the lid piece.
6. Fold down just the top tabs of the lid piece, away from the vinyl side.TIP: Use the scraper tool to sharpen the creases.
7. Add a small amount of craft glue to the side tab, on the side with the vinyl.
8. Keeping the vinyl on the outside, bring around the opposite side of the lid and line up its edge flush with the glued tab’s crease line.
9. Press and hold to adhere the pieces together to form the circular lid.
10. Take the base piece (the one with small tabs) and fold back its top tabs. Don’t fold the tab on the side.
11. Add a small amount of craft glue to the outside of the base piece’s first two tabs.
12. Line up the two glued tabs on the bottom circle piece, keeping the crease lines flush along the curved outer perimeter.
13. Press in place and hold for several seconds to adhere the tabs to the bottom piece.
14. Continue adhering the rest of the tabs two at a time along the bottom piece’s outside edge, making sure the tabs are firmly attached before moving on to the next pair.TIP: It might be easier to add glue if you hold the pieces upside down.
15. When you get to the base piece’s final tab, add craft glue to the bottom of its last small tab and the outside of its side tab.
16. Slide in the final tab and line up the base piece’s opposite edge flush with the side tab’s crease line, then press and hold to adhere both tabs.
17. Place the assembled lid piece on top of the assembled base piece.
18. The gift box part of your snow globe is ready!

ASSEMBLE YOUR GLOBE’S INNER DECOR PIECE

OPTION 1: CHRISTMAS TREE

1. Fold the first tree piece in half along the center crease line, then sharpen the fold with your scraper tool.
2. Fold in the tree’s two bottom tabs toward the crease.
3. Repeat Steps 1-2 for the remaining five tree pieces.
4. Fold the first star piece in half along the center crease line, then sharpen the fold with your scraper tool. TIP: Place the edge of your scraper tool along the crease line to help form your fold.
5. Repeat for the remaining five star pieces.
6. Take a star piece and add a small amount of craft glue to the bottom tab.NOTE: The star piece should open toward you.
7. Take a tree piece and press its top tip onto the star piece, keeping the creases aligned.
8. Press and hold to adhere.NOTE: Don’t fold the halves together to adhere the pieces, or the star might stick.
9. Take your next star piece and align one of its halves back to back with the star attached to the tree.
10. Add craft glue to the back of the second star piece half.
11. Align it with the star half attached to the tree again, then press and hold to adhere.
12. Then take the next tree piece and align one of its halves back to back with the tree attached to the star.
13. Add craft glue to the back of the second tree piece half, avoiding cutout areas and the tree’s tabs.
14. Align it with the tree half attached to the star again, then press and hold to adhere. This will sandwich the star’s tab in between the two tree layers.
15. Repeat Steps 9-14 to attach the remaining four stars and tree pieces one half at a time.TIP: When you get to the last star and tree piece, you can glue both halves at the same time, attaching the star first and then the tree.
16. Fan out your tree so all six sides are evenly spaced.
17. Separate the tree’s bottom tabs and push them outward so it stands up on its own.
18. If you’d like your tree to have lights, cut approximately 22” of mini string lights off the roll, and then trim away any excess string on one end.
19. Place a small glue dot on the back of the light at one end of the strand.
20. Firmly press the light into one of the tree sections near the bottom to attach it with the glue dot.
21. Wrap the strand of lights around the sections of the tree, moving upwards and adjusting the arrangement as you go. You can use the tree’s outer “branches” to hold the lights in place.
22. Add a small glue dot to the last light and firmly press it into place at the top of the tree.NOTE: If you have excess at the end of your strand, use scissors to snip the string just after the last light you have room for.
23. If desired, cut individual lights from the spool and use glue dots to adhere them to the tree to fill in gaps without decoration.

OPTION 2: SNOWFLAKE

1. Follow Steps 1-10 from the “WEED YOUR VINYL BASE DECORATION” and Steps 1-4 of the “ASSEMBLE THE GIFT BOX BASE” sections of this tutorial to weed and apply a vinyl decal in the center of each of your six snowflake pieces.
2. With the vinyl side face up, fold your first snowflake upward along its center crease lines.
3. Then fold the entire snowflake in half along the crease lines, pressing together along the creases for a nice, sharp fold.TIP: If any vinyl pulls away at the creases, use your finger to press it back down.
4. Fold the snowflake’s two bottom tabs up toward the vinyl side.
5. Repeat Steps 2-4 for the remaining five snowflakes.
6. Take your first snowflake piece and hold it so the vinyl is facing toward you and the tabs are facing downward.
7. Add craft glue to the back (non-vinyl side) of one of the snowflake’s halves, avoiding cutout areas and the tab.
8. Align the next snowflake piece back to back with the first, tabs facing downward, then press and hold to adhere.
9. Repeat Steps 7-8 to attach the remaining four snowflake pieces, one half at a time.
10. Add craft glue to the last snowflake half, align it with your original snowflake piece, then press and hold to adhere.
11. Fan out your snowflake so all six sides are evenly spaced.
12. Separate the snowflake’s bottom tabs and push them outward so it stands up on its own.

ADD THE INNER DECOR PIECE AND SNOW TO THE GLOBE

1. Turn on your hot glue gun.
2. Separate your globe ornament into two halves.
3. Find the half with a ridge on the outside where the two pieces connect. This will be the globe’s bottom half.
4. With one hand, hold the bottom half so the globe’s hanging piece points toward you.
5. With your other hand, hold your inner decor piece with the bottom toward you, and place it inside the globe so its center aligns with the hanging piece.NOTE: You can fit multiple small pieces inside your globe -- just make sure you can secure them to the globe the way you want before gluing in the next steps. TIP: Be mindful of which way your decor faces and where the globe’s seam will be -- you want a clear view of the scene inside!
6. Set aside your inner decor piece and put on your finger caps to protect yourself from hot glue.
7. Working quickly but carefully, add hot glue to the bottom half of the decor piece (tabs, base, feet, etc.) that will be attached to the globe’s bottom half.
8. Then align the decor piece inside the globe in the same position as Step 5, centered on the hanging piece.
9. Hold the pieces together firmly until the hot glue sets, so the decor piece adheres fully to the globe.
10. Next, add fake snow to the same half of your globe as the decorative element. You only need to fill about 30% to 50% of the globe’s bottom half with snow.
11. To preview how the snow looks inside the globe, secure the globe’s halves together and then shake to evenly distribute the snow. Decide if you want to add or remove snow. Then hold the globe so the snow settles with the attached decorative piece on the bottom, lift off the top half, and make any desired adjustments.
12. Working quickly but carefully, add hot glue to the bottom of the other half of the decor piece.
13. Secure the globe’s other half with the hanging pieces aligned, then hold in place until the hot glue dries.NOTE: Don’t shake the globe until the glue is fully dry to prevent snow pieces from getting stuck to it.
14. Hold the globe so the inner element is upright, and shake to evenly distribute the snow.
15. Decide which side of the globe you want to be its front and face it toward you.
16. Place the assembled lid piece right side up with the vinyl decal facing you. Make sure you remove the lid from the gift box’s base.
17. Add hot glue to the top of all of the lid’s tabs.
18. Center the globe over the lid and lower it onto the tabs.
19. Flip over the entire assembly and press the glued tabs onto the bottom of the globe to adhere them together.
20. Add candy or another small gift inside the base, then place the globe lid on top.

STEP 4: SHOW IT OFF

You now have a fun snow globe gift box that is sure to impress!