Mini milk cartons with crate tutorial

I have had  many requests for this Cricut .cut file. I have really been enjoying all the comments and the traffic on my blog. Yahoo!

I have created my own .cut file, made a few changes that make it work better for me....plus this way it is my own work and I can feel free to share it, free-ly. ;)

So, enjoy the tutorial and feel free to leave me a comment requesting the .cut file. I will send out my version of the cartons with the crate now.

I am loving having these adorable bats on my desk to decorate all my Halloween projects. Aren't they the cutest? I cut these cartons in white just to test the .cut file, but when they came out perfectly I couldn't throw them away. So I inked the edges and added the rectangles of decorative papers to try to make them a tad more spooky.

This is the back side. Again using the brads to close the milk carton tops. The bats wings on the front cover the brad prongs, but still leave them easily open-able and reusable.

Now, on with the tutorial....which is picture heavy. Sorry.

Here we are scoring at .5, 1.5 and 3.5 inches.




Flip the .cut and score at 1.5, 3, 4.5 and 6 inches.




In this photo, I know its hard to see but I am trying to show the beginnings of the gable end of the milk carton. So I moved the .cut over to the .25 inch line on the scor-pal and then score just the top .5 inch section at the 2.5 and 5.5 inch lines.



Here the .5 inch marks are clearer. Now we rotate the .cut and starting at the bottom of the .5 inch score I feel around with my finger nail and attempt to get the angled line out to the corner (as seen above).



Rotate and repeat for the other angled score line. This is the most difficult part, trust me. From here it's all gravy baby.

Now we just fold all the scores, making crisp lines.

Use your favorite strong tape on the .5 inch tab along the side and tape the 3 sides of the bottom tab closest to the side tab.

I think the easiest way to line up the side is to fold the taped edge over to the center, then lay the opposite side over on top of the tape. Seems to work out nicely for me. Now fold in the two shorter tabs on the bottom, then fold in the taped tab and finally press the final tab down onto the tape. I use the handle end of my small Fiskars scissors to reach down inside the mini milk carton and press the bottom to ensure the tape is well adhered.
Now we start on the crate. Its quick and simple.

Score at 1 and 2.5 inches.

Flip and score at 1 and 4 inches. (Sorry, I have no idea why this photo won't load rotated to the correct orientation....its me, not you. But its late and I'm too tired to fuss with it. Please forgive me.)

I only add tape to the outer edges of the tabs. This lil crate really doesn't need any more tape then that.

This is the long .cut that makes the handle for the crate. I attempt to center the ovals and then score evenly between them. Then I add tape, 1 stripe above the oval and 1 stripe below the oval.

Then fold the handle .cut in half, sealing the tape together. Score at 4.5 inches. Pressing a bit harder so that you crease through both layers.

I fold both tabs back to make a nice crease again. Then laying 1 tab back against the handle, see above. I run tape along both outer edges of the bottom tabs. Oy, as I read back through these they sounds so confusing.....I really do hope the pictures help.

To get the handle lined up properly I place a mini milk carton against the handle, folding the bottom flat underneath the carton and set it down in the base, with the carton snug up against the side. Then I test it by adding in the other carton, just to make sure they both fit. Its a tight squeeze. I have found that on the base as I am scoring and then creasing the scores if I score a little wide rather then exactly on the line, its a little more roomy with the cartons and the layers of decorative papers and all.
Wow, sorry for the long post. I hope this helps. I hope you enjoy playing around with them as much as I have. So many holidays, so easy to decorate these to fit all of them!
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