How to Make a Minecraft Dirt Block Tissue Box Cover

As a final (final) project for Minecraft month, I was staring at a box of tissues and just thought, how could this be Minecrafted?

Hiding it inside a dirt block came to mind and here it is: The Dirt Block Tissue Box!

The full video as always is below but read on for the step by step instructions.

Enjoy!

For this project, you will need:

• An A2 piece of foamboard
• An Xacto/Stanley/Craft knife with a sharp blade (helps prevent tearing/clumping)
  • Optional: A 45 degree cutting guide for your knife
  • OptionaL: Or, a 'foamboard V-cutter'. A little expensive for my budget!
• A metal ruler
• A colour copy of the downloadable instructions in this step
• Hot glue gun with glue sticks
• Tacky glue stick
• Around an hour and a half prep and making time!

Don't forget your box of tissues!

Cut out the black and white templates and stick them in a 'plus sign' shape on your foam board with the 'slot' piece in the middle of the plus.

Applying the glue to the foam board first helps stop the paper templates curl when you press them down.

While the glue is drying, cut out your colour templates!

This step is definitely the most fiddly step, but it is also quite forgiving! So, don't worry if it doesn't work out perfectly first time!

First, using your metal ruler and knife, cut vertically into the foam board and cut around the 'plus' shape you have.

Next, take your metal ruler and line it up on one of the lines where your white squares meet.

Move the ruler away from the line around 0.5cm.

Now, dig the tip of the knife blade into the foam using the ruler at 45 degrees (imagining you want the blade to reach down to the bottom of the foam under the line where the squares meet.

Run the knife along the ruler at 45 degrees. Repeat the cut but this time deeper. Then, cut again but try to dig the knife so the tip of the blade will just touch the bottom of the foam but not cut through the card stuck on the outside.

If you pick up the foam board now, you should be able to bend it back and see your 45 degree cut!

If it's not bending open freely, lay it back down and cut in a little deeper with the knife until it does.

Now, line the ruler back up with the joining line and move it 0.5cm the other way.

Repeat the 45 degree cutting down towards the point you aimed for before.

Give it a test bend and gently remove the V-shaped piece of foam in between the square cube faces.

Repeat on all the edges marked on the picture and take a well-earned rest :)

Next up, take your metal ruler and knife and cut out the thin rectangular slot in the centre square of your 'plus' shape.

With the short sides, use gentle digs of the knife tip to cut through the foam and prevent clumping with the foam.

Then, flip the board over and gently dig through the scored lines to cut out the piece.

Try passing a tissue through to see if it stand up in the slot!

Now, run a line of hot glue down into each of the V-shaped valleys which you cut.

Press the edges on each side of the seam up and together to form an L-shaped right-angle and hold for around 4-5 seconds.

Repeat for all the other seams until you have a box shape!

Stand it up with the slot facing upwards and see if it stands on its own.

If it stands wonkily, lay the wonky side flat down and shave a little off the edge using the metal ruler and knife.

It's dirty sides time!

Add a good amount of glue to one of the sides of your cube.

Take a dirt block side template and press it onto the side, leaving the left edge unglued (we will sort this out later!)

Next, glue the top and side tabs down onto the corresponding faces of the cube.

Repeat adding your dirty sides until the final side tab is glued down.

Now, glue down that left edge you left unglued to cover up the tab.

Finally, add a generous amount of tacky glue to the top face of your cube.

Lining up the dotted line slot on the template, press the green, grassy template on top.

Only one step remains!

Lastly, using your knife, cut along the 3 dotted lined to make a long, thin 'capital I' shape.

Hook your knife blade under each slot and pull them up to reveal the white underneath.

Add tacky glue to one of the white sides and press it back down into the slot so the glue rests against the foam.

Hold it in place for a good 10-15 seconds and release.

Repeat with other white flappy tab and you are done!

Lastly, carefully place the dirt block cover over your tissue box and tease that first tissue up through the slot.

Give that tissue a tug and the one after should stay sticking up and out after the first has gone!

Congratulations, you are done!

You can now be proud of having a block of dirt-y tissues on your desk or in your living room.

Thanks for reading this instructable and hopefully you'll join me in the next one!