Let's Sail - Box With Boat and a Trick Opening

This is a paper box that opens when you pull on the boat on its top. This can be a cute little gift and you can hide some tiny treasures in the box. If you'd like to try something similar, I also have a tutorial on a Matchbox suitcase.

Here's a video of the finished box.

The trick here is a string that goes through the box in a way that makes the inside of the box come out when you pull on the boat. The decoration is completely up to you but I'll tell you what I used.

Box and Boat

• Blue heavy weight or normal paper
• White paper
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue
• Needle
• White thread
• Small piece of tape

Decoration (here's what I used)

• White acrylic paint
• brush
• white crayon
• white paper
• black ink and a pointy wooden stick to write with
• blue and brown beads
• 2,5 cm/1 in plastic key

Cut a rectangle of 9,5 x 8,5 cm/3.7 x 3.3 in. Mark lines at 1,5 cm/0.6 in from each side (see the photo).

Crease the lines and fold them in, then open again.

Cut 1,5 cm/0.6 in on one side of each corner like in the photo nr. 3.

Fold the cut corners in, fold the sides in to see if they align.

Apply some glue to the folded corners and glue the inside of the box together.

Cut a 7 x 16 cm/2.8 x 6.3 in rectangle and trace lines at the distances shown in the first photo.

Crease and fold the lines and try to close the outside of the box.

Apply glue to the 1 cm/0.4 in section and glue the outside of the box together.

Cut a 8 x 5 cm/3.14 x 2 in rectangle from white paper and fold it in half lengthwise, open side facing down. Fold again in half again, this time from left to right and open again, so you can see the center crease. Fold both upper corners to the center crease.

Fold one open side up all the way the folded corners let you, flip the boat and to the same on the other side. Fold all 4 corners of the sides in.

Turn the future boat with one of the pointy sides towards you and press to form a square of which the pointy side will now be the center. Take the bottom tip and fold it upwards, to the upper tip. Flip to the other side and do the same.

Again, turn it so you're facing the pointy side and press to make it into a square. Now you should have two tips facing up, pull them to the sides and there you have your boat.

I found this great video on how to make a paper boat, it's helpful.

At the end, cut a tiny piece of paper, 1 x 0,5 cm/0.4 x 0.2 in is enough. Fold it in half lengthwise and glue in between the two halves of the bottom of the boat, open ends up. There should be only a small piece of this paper showing.

Now that you have the two parts of the box, let's decorate them.

Make w few waves with the white crayon inside the box and some more with acrylic paint on the outside. You can also spray some paint from the brush to add more texture.

Tear tiny pieces of paper, one for each letter. Then spell "Let's sail" on them and glue them on the top of the box.

Tear a piece of paper with your hands, about 5 x 2cm/2 x 0.79 in and you can write a message on it or leave it blank. Since my box says "Let's sail", the message is "...Anywhere...".

Roll in the paper and glue one end inside the box. Draw a bottle in the "water" next to it and glue a few beads around the inside.

Add a key to the front of the inside part of the box.

Thread you needle with a double thread (the one where you thread the needle, put both ends together and make a knot. First, pull the needle through the small piece of paper at the bottom of the boat.

Continue by pulling the needle through the center or front half of the top of the box, then the front of the bottom of the box, not more than 1 cm/0.4 in from the edge. It is very important that it's not further than half of the top of the box and front of the bottom or it won't work.

A this point, put the inside part in because this will show you where to cut the thread. Once the inside is in, turn the box upside down, make a know on the thread and secure with a piece of tape.

Turn it back boat up and see how it works. Pull gently on the boat and the box should open.