Making a Tool Box Birthday Card

If you have mechanics in your life, you might recognize a red toolbox as being an iconic Snap-On product.

For my son's birthday, I wanted something that would remind him of Snap-On without driving myself crazy trying to actually replicate it. I didn't have that kind of time. I have two die sets from Die-Namics that create these tools (Tool Time MFT483) and pegboard (Pegboard Cover up MFT478). They aren't mechanic tools, but they would work.

I wanted at least two drawers. Actually, I wanted more but I made many mistakes and went through red paper at an alarming rate. Two drawers would be fine, one for the tools, the other for cash or a gift card. The shiny "handles" on the drawers are cut from a Tim Holtz mirrored sheet.

I figured out the dimensions I wanted for the bottom of a drawer, than added for the sides and parts that fold to create a box. I've made boxes for years. If you aren't familiar with the process, do a search on creating paper boxes and follow the directions or video that are easiest for you to understand. Each drawer has a sleeve around it so that the drawer can slide in and out. The glued the two sleeves together, then made one more to become the toolbox exterior. The stacked sleeves are only glued on the bottom and top of the toolbox shell on the inside. As you can see in this photo, there is more slack in the fit than I had hoped for, but it all works. If I had glued the sides of the stacked sleeves to the inside of the toolbox shell, I think the shape would have become wonky. Wonky isn't good for toolboxes.

The birthday boy will get this box tonight. Somehow he attained the age of 40 despite the fact that I am barely older than 40 myself. I think playing with paper keeps me young.