Paper Castle

After many requests for a tutorial for this project, I managed to get one put together for you.  If you think you can’t possibly make one of these, you are completely wrong.  I’m going to show you how easy it is.

So . . . let’s get started shall we?

Here’s what we’re going to make:

Finished size of this cabinet is approximately 19” x 29”

Here’s a list of supplies you will need:

• 5 sheets of 20” x 30” foam board
• 1 1/2” & 1 3/4” circle punches
• Utility knife
• Ruler – metal rulers are the easiest to work with
• 45 sheets of CS
• Glue gun
• Acetate (optional)

Step 1

When cutting the foam board, do not try to cut all the way through with the first pass of the knife.  It usually takes 3 to 4 passes before it’s cut all the way through. 

Foam board will dull the knife very quickly and cause it to tear the board instead of cut it, so keep spare knives or blades handy.

• Cut 2 pieces of 4 1/2” x 29” foam board and set aside
• Cut 4 pieces of 4 1/2” x 28 1/2” foam board
• Cut 10 pieces of 4 1/2” x 18 1/4” foam board

TIP: a quick and easy way of measuring is to use a piece of cardstock that is cut to the width you need. In this case 4 1/2”.  Prop your foam board up against something straight and use the cardstock as your measuring guide.  Mark off the 4 1/2” on both sides of the board, then cut.  This also works very well to ensure you get equal widths for all pieces.

Step 2

Make a template from cardstock like the picture below. The size of the cardstock doesn’t matter, as long as you get the overall measurements outlined.  You will use this to mark out the cuts on your boards and ensure that they are measured equally apart.

A quick and easy way to measure out is on the scoreboard.  It saves a lot of fiddling around with a ruler.

Step 3

Use 8 pieces of 4 1/2” x 18 1/4” foam board for this step. The remaining two will be used for the top and bottom framing of the finished cabinet.

Step 4

Step 5

Make another template like the one below and repeat steps 3 & 4 above using the

4 1/2” x 28 1/2” pieces.

Here is Miss Zoe, the supervisor. She loves foam board too!  I had to move her off of my pieces several times before she stayed off to the side where I put her.

She doesn’t look very happy does she.

Below is a picture of all the pieces you should now have and what they should look like.

Step 6

Assemble the pieces as shown below.  Easy peasy. It’s a bit awkward getting the first row started, but after that it’s very quick. 

TIP: assembly of the first row is made easier if you work with the top piece (the one going back and forth) off the edge of the table. 

Now would be a good time to plug in your glue gun and let it heat up for the next step.

Step 7

Starting with a narrow end, begin gluing the side pieces around the board.  Do not worry about gluing the dividers at this point.

Be sure that your ends look like the photo below.  Hot glue is not very forgiving, so if you get it wrong, you’ll have to cut new pieces of board.

Step 8

Step 9

Step 10

Boxes

Trimming the corners ensures that these tabs will not be taller than the box sides once the box is assembled, giving it a cleaner and neater finished look.

Do not assemble the boxes until the fronts have been finished first.

Step 11

Use any size circle punch you like to cut out a finger pull for the box front.

Alternate window option:

Make 2 templates like shown below.  The smaller circle is for the box itself, and the larger circle is for the patterned paper layer.

It may take some time to get the measurements just right but it’ll be worthwhile as it will save you time and aggravation later on trying to eyeball it then finding out you got it completely off center.

Cut a 2 1/2” x 3 1/8” piece of acetate and adhere to the inside of the box front.

Cut 2 5/8” x 3 3/16” (approximation) patterned papers.  You may need to adjust the size a bit here.  Cut 1 and test drive it to see how it fits over your box before cutting all 40.

The top row drawers will measure approximately 2 3/8” x 3 1/2”

And there you have it.  If anything is unclear or doesn’t make sense, please let me know and I will get it corrected as soon as possible.

I hope you have enjoyed this project, and I’d love it if you linked back so we can see pictures of your finished cabinet.

Thanks so much for tuning in, and have a happy day!

 

19 Responses to “Foam Board Cabinet Tutorial”