Explosion Boxes are all the rage in the crafting industry right now. Our granddaughter recently celebrated a milestone birthday – her 10th – and I wanted to make something extra special to help her celebrate during these challenging times. Maddie was lucky enough to have had a kids birthday party last year, but COVID has changed our world and how we celebrate at present. She has been completing school this year online, so she’s also missing the direct connection with her friends. She recently told me that when she has kids her age, and they tell her they’re bored, she’ll reply “You don’t know what bored is – because you didn’t live through COVID!” Wise words from someone just turning 10!

I did some researching into explosion boxes and came across this beautiful Tower Explosion Box by Les Pensées en Papier – SVG designs. There is a helpful YouTube video tutorial to help you assemble the project, and you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NKimnjlEvE. While I initially hesitated to purchase the cut file due to the price, I felt it was more than fair when I downloaded the files and instructions to complete. There are total of 36 svg cut files to complete the project, and the download includes cut files for both the Silhouette and Cricut, a supply list and download instructions. I used a Silhouette to complete the project. The YouTube video will guide you through the construction of the tower and all the flowers as seen in the project.

To complete this project I used 12 sheets of 12″ x 12″ black Precision Cardstock from American Crafts, the It’s Your Birthday paper collection pack from Echo Park Paper Co., and 2 sheets of 12″ x 12″ coordinating cardstock to create the flowers. The paper pack includes twelve double-sided papers and a full coordinating element sticker sheet. I used eleven of the patterned papers and approximately 3/4’s of the sticker sheet to decorate the project. I did substitute the use of a glue gun in this project and opted to use Glossy Accents by Ranger Ink to construct and attach the flowers seen in this project. It has always been my go-to heavy bond glue and worked perfectly to hold all these pieces in place.

Once completed, the tower explosion box folds up neatly into the largest box or bottom layer of the project. The next two pictures show you the full tower folded down into itself, and a top view of the lid adorned with 3 of the beautiful flowers included in the cut file.

The following pictures show the first “explosion” when the largest lid is removed from the box. As you can see, it reveals another box and lid.

The next two pictures show the 2nd explosion with the 2nd box lid in place and removed. Once the lid is removed, it reveals a surprise interior – 4 more boxes!

At this stage, you simply reach inside the towering stack and pull the remaining boxes up by grasping the smallest box with the flower on top. As you do so, you reveal 4 more layers of boxes. There are built-in paper extenders (which you can’t see once the project is completed) that allow you to twist each level slightly to rest on the level before. This helps fan out the layers for a pretty presentation. The smallest box at the top remains intact.

The smallest closed box at the top of the tower provided an excellent opportunity to sneak in a special gift for Maddie. I had a small pair of earrings to give her for her special birthday. I dug into my paper crafting stash and came up with the small shopping bag seen in the pictures below. It was the perfect size to fit within the small box.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the photos of this project. I highly recommend this project, it was fun to make, fun to give, and loved by my granddaughter! Thanks for joining me, stay safe, well and Happy Scrapping!