These DIY favor boxes are super easy to make and you can make it using lots of different types of inexpensive and even free materials.
I made these boxes for a friend’s wedding. (It was a small wedding so it wasn’t that onerous). Nonetheless, I challenged myself to make wedding favors under $2. The decor of the wedding had a modern farmhouse rustic feel so I wanted to use kraft paper. As it turns out, paper groceries bags look the same as kraft paper so I ended up making a small gift box out of paper for free! These are easy but nice cheap favors boxes.
For my own wedding, I managed to spend less than $50k on everything including the honeymoon. I thought that was a lot at the time. I still think it’s a lot for just one occasion but as it turns out, it is below average for weddings and honeymoons. It’s just crazy what people are willing to spend on a single day. I love this recent trend of low key backyard weddings.
Not only are smaller wedding financially more feasible, they end up being more intimate affairs.
This was the inspiration for this project, I wanted to create something that didn’t cost anything. Even the little things add up when you have 100 guests. These little favor boxes sell for $2 a pop online.
My gift box is super simple to make and you can reuse materials you already have around the house.
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Materials for a DIY gift box:
Paper grocery bags and Scissors
(That’s it!)
Now, if you’re not willing to sit around and collect grocery bags, kraft paper isn’t that expensive. You can get a pack of 50 from Amazon for less than $10. I recommend using medium weight kraft paper or cardstock in general for this particular gift box. Anything lighter won’t hold up as well. Here are some of my favorite cardstock brands:
- Assorted Starter Pack – Basic assorted colors, great starter pack, perfect weight for most papercraft projects
- Cricut Joy Insert Card Packs – You don’t have to use these with the Cricut Joy, they are nice material kids for cardmaking.
- Cardstock Warehouse Brand on Amazon – I love the quality of all the matte-colored cardstock with Cardstock Warehouse. It is my go-to brand for individual matte colors that I might need
- Poptone Assorted Variety Pack – This is the perfect peppy assortment of colors of heavy cardstock. It’s a heavy cardstock assortment with colors I actually use frequently for cardmaking.
- Seasonal Assorted Variety Pack – This is a slight variation on the Poptone assortment and has a quite few neutrals that complement almost any accent color.
- Stardream Metallics Line – For paper crafts, the Stardream line is the go-to for a metallic shimmer finish. It is the perfect sheen to make any project pop. The core is also colored is which hard to find for metallic paper.
I use my Cricut cutting machine to make these which makes it go much faster.
Cutting Machine – I use a Cricut. Check out my recommendations for Cricut machines and accessories for beginners for more info.
Template – This favor boxes template is free and available in both SVG and Printable PDF formats in my resource library.
How to make a free DIY favor gift box:
Step 1: Cut out the rectangular box template
There are a couple of ways to do this. You can always design the cutout by hand. I’ve spent some time optimizing my template for the proportions. It is free for anyone that is interested including all file formats (SVG|PNG|PDF).
You can trim your grocery bag to a standard paper size for your printer and print directly onto the grocery bag to cut.
Alternatively, you can just print it out on regular copy paper and then trace the cutout by hand.
I have a fancy cutting machine so I just cut it there but this is a simple design and totally doable by hand. If you’re using a grocery bag, I recommend a green standard grip mat. Grocery bags are a little rougher and require a more sticky mat. If you’re just using Kraft cardstock, I recommend using a light grip blue mat. It’s much easier to get the cutout off and clean up afterwards.
Step 2: Score and fold the party box template
Fold at the base of the cutout and slide the hearts in the slots. I actually don’t bother with scoring most of the time especially if I’m making a lot of these but some thicker materials might need an initial score before folding.
That’s it! It doesn’t get easier than this. It’s true, the best things in life are free. 🙂
Interested in my other party favor box templates (also free!)? Check out my rolled rose gift box and butterfly gift box tutorials.
If you have a Cricut cutting machine, these floral heart boxes are also super easy to make.
Related Articles:
9 DIY Gift Wrapping Ideas without Boxes
Lace Laser Cut like Wedding Invitations Templates
I totally understand the feeling of wanting to spend less. As I have said, I have been there. I am proud of it because I could spend my hard-earned money on bills and other necessities.
Making favor boxes is one of those areas of savings that I would recommend to people. It is easy, and there are a lot of inspirations online to rely on. I recently saw a favor boxes for Valentine’s Day, where it was like a Russian doll. Once you open the favor box, another box was inside. Besides another box, it also contained small gifts. It was a very creative idea that I intend on getting to soon. But for now, let’s focus on a simple craft.
The favor box need not be boring. You can place your flair! You can control the designs. But first! You need to understand the initial steps of doing it. Especially for you who would be making favor boxes for the first time.
If you have read my previous articles, I provide some recommendations on how to prepare all your tools and materials before starting with your craft. This is for you to avoid getting distracted while crafting. And, if you feel intimidated with crafting, do not be! It is normal to not get things right immediately. Try and try again – you would definitely ace it after some practice.
Let us get started! The material is readily available in your local craft store.