The Box

Boxes

I have made a few varieties of boxes over the past few years. I sometimes have to change it up because I use recycled boxes and I have to work with the shape and size that is available. Sometimes I am shipping two different sized canvases and it can make things more interesting.

I start with wrapping up the artwork first. Tissue paper or bubble-wrap or both. 

This is the basic, one canvas box. You have to make one side just a touch larger so that the lid slides over the other side. The thickness of the canvas and wrapping will dictate how large you make the sides. Accommodate for wrapping / and any extra layers you might need. 

If you want to be safe, add some buffer to the sides. I had this recycled cardboard on hand but I have used bubble-wrap, tissue paper, whatever you have. I try to make it look tidy and professional. 

Large canvas. This canvas was 24" by 24"  So I wanted it packaged as tightly as I could. I also wanted to protect it. I put cardboard in the front and back as a double layer of protection. I cut the box to fit after it was bubble-wrapped. I also put in extra cardboard corners.

The lid was a copy of the bottom but just slightly larger (1 cm or the thickness of the cardboard). I taped it up. Remember to mark Fragile / Do Not Bend / Do Not Cut. As well as marking where it is safe to cut the tape to open. 

You will also notice that there is a little depth left for the square cardboard I put to protect the art face while shipping.

It's easiest to measure as I go. In this example I cut and used the cardboard as bottom and top buffer but I find this is time consuming so I don't do it all the time. I used the bubble-wrap at the sides to keep it in place. The top folds closed in the middle and although this looks attractive it would mean the person had to be really careful when cutting box open. It would require another cardboard piece as a protector and a warning to be careful while cutting.

This is the alternative solution to the above problem. The flap folds straight over and connects with the side. You can also see how the side buffers work in protecting the art.

It's amazing what you can do with a box cutter, cutting board and a ruler.