Learn how to make this cute ice cream treat box which doubles as a gift card holder and party favor box!
Cute little gift boxes are a lot of fun to make. And so useful! I’ve made many little gift box templates over the years, including my yummy Pie Slice Box, the adorable Puppy Box, and the jaunty Mini Top Hat Box. But this new ice cream treat box is delicious in its simplicity. These cute little ice cream bar boxes also look like the famous Popsicle® bars we all know and love. It’s easy to change the color scheme up to make them look like whatever frosty treat you love. Sweet, simple, and fun! And this ice cream bar gift box fits both little gifts, treats, and gift cards — it makes a perfect party favor box, too!
This ice cream treat box is a perfect sweet gesture to give any time of year, but it’s particularly fun in the summer! Here are red, white, and blue ice cream treat boxes with a little red Cricut Cutie hiding inside!
To make this gift box, you will need cardstock in 65 lb. to 80 lb. weight. I used 80 lb. cardstock, but feel free to play around with various kinds of cardstock and weights (65 lb. or 110 lb. will work well too), so see what you like best! The only thing to keep in mind is that glitter cardstock will make it harder to slide the two box pieces together. Foil cardstock looks really nice with this project.
As for adhesive, tacky glue will work best for this gift card box template because you really want it to dry quickly and dry flat. Mounting tape or hot glue will make it too hard to slide the box cover on. It is important to know that if you use a cardstock with a texture, like glitter, you may need to experiment with glues or even double-sided tape to find the best adhesive for your paper.
I used my Cricut cutting machine to cut everything out, along with the fine point blade, the scoring stylus or scoring tool, and a green Standard Grip cutting machine mat.
These treat boxes are just SO cute! Imagine how cute they will look at your next party, or in that gift basket you’re making?
Let me show you how easy it is to make this ice cream treat box! This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Read my full disclosure policy.
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Materials to Make an Ice Cream Treat Box / Gift Card Box
View my Amazon shopping list with the exact items we used to make this project!
- Two (2) sheets 12″ x 12″ cardstock (I used this brand)
- One (1) sheet tan cardstock (I used this exact brand)
- One (1) sheet 12” x 12” glitter Cardstock (I used this exact brand)
- Tacky glue (I used this exact glue)
- 8″ of ribbon
- Cricut LightGrip Mat 12×12
- Scoring Stylus (Maker or Explore) or Scoring Wheel (for Maker only)
- A way to cut your paper (I used the Cricut Maker cutting machine but they can also be cut on a Cricut Explore).
- Design #311 – (My free SVG/PDF/DXF design files are available in my free resource library – get the password by filling out the form at the bottom of this page)
How to Make a Ice Cream Treat Box and Gift Card Holder
Ice Cream Treat Box / Popsicle Box
This cute ice cream treat and Popsicle-shaped box holds party favors, trinkets and gift cards!
Materials
- Two (2) sheets 12" x 12" cardstock (I used American Crafts Textured Summer Variety Cardstock)
- One (1) sheet tan cardstock (I used Darice Premium Cardstock 12” x 12”)
- One (1) sheet 12” x 12” Glitter Cardstock (I used Cricut Glitter Cardstock Pastel)
- Tacky glue (I used Aleene’s Tacky Glue)
- 8" of Ribbon
- Design #311 –My free Popsicle Box SVG design file (available in my free resource library–get the password by filling out the form at the bottom of this page)
Tools
Instructions
STEP 1: PREPARE AND CUT MY FREE DESIGN FILES
Get Design #311 which is my free Ice Cream Treat Box SVG design from my free resource library (get the password to the library by filling out the form at the bottom of this post). If you're going to cut it on your cutting machine, upload the file to your design software.
If you're not sure how to upload an SVG cut file to Cricut Design Space, watch this helpful video training series I made. If you're on an iPhone or iPad, here's how to download and upload SVG files to the Cricut Design Space app.
This is what the ice cream bar file looks like in Design Space when you import it. Check to make sure that the Score and Cut lines look like this and are attached correctly:
The ice cream treat box / Popsicle box is the perfect size to hold gift cards or small party favors, but you may choose to adjust the size. Once you have the size adjusted to your measurements, you are ready to make it.
Click "Make It" and you will be prompted to select your material settings and place your paper on your cutting mat. Follow the prompts to load the mat and tools into your Cricut.
IMPORTANT: Make sure to choose the right material/tool for each layer before cutting depending on the paper types and weights you choose.
Note: If you use cardstock that is textured on one side like I did, you may want to place your cardstock with the textured side DOWN on your mat. That way once your pieces are cut and folded the textured side will show on the outside of your popsicle box.
Gently remove each layer from the mat. These are the pieces you’ll use when you’re done cutting:
STEP 2: ASSEMBLE THE ICE CREAM TREAT BOX
The box is a matchbox-style box. We'll first assemble the insert box.
Fold along every score line. Everything gets folded IN.
Before glueing anything, let’s attach the popsicle stick. Feed the squared-off end through the slit at the end of the box.
Fold the ends of the popsicle stick in opposite directions. One half folds one direction towards you, and the other half folds away from you.
Glue each side of the popsicle stick to the inside of the box flap.
Fold in the small tabs of the box and apply glue on the outside of them.
Fold up the outer short flap and attach to the tabs. Apply pressure until the glue holds. Repeat for the other side.
Now we can fold in and glue the remaining flaps to hide the inner tabs.
This is what the insert box looks like when it's assembled:
STEP 3: ASSEMBLE THE OUTER SLEEVE
Once the insert box is assembled, fold along every score line on the outer sleeve. Everything gets folded IN.
Form the outer sleeve into the shape of a rectangle. Apply glue to the side flap and adhere to the inside of the other flap to form a closed rectangle.
Fold in the top tabs and apply glue.
Fold over the top flap and hold in place until the glue holds.
Apply more glue to the flap and fold in the remaining top flap.
Repeat the same steps to glue and fold the glittery drip layer. Fold in the tabs and glue into place. You may want to fold and glue the drip layer directly onto the outer sleeve. Alternatively, you can assemble it separately and then apply glue inside and slide the sleeve inside like I did.
Slide the inner box into the outer sleeve to assemble the popsicle box.
STEP 4: EMBELLISH THE ICE CREAM TREAT BOX
You may want to further decorate your box by gluing on beads, ribbon or other fun items. Get creative!
I glued a band of ribbon to the base of my outer sleeve like this:
This is what my finished ice cream treat box looks like:
Recommended Products
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Answers to Your Questions About How to Make the Ice Cream Treat Box
Q: What kind of cardstock can I use?
I used 80 lb. cardstock for my popsicle gift card template box, but you can use 65 lb. or 110 lb. too. If you choose to make your box smaller, you can use 8 1/2 x 11 paper.
Q: What size should the pieces be after I upload them to Cricut Design Space?
The grouped files after the initial placement on the Canvas are 8.668″ wide by 8.447″ high. Here are the dimensions of each individual piece:
Drips: 7.75″ w x 4.042″ h
Sleeve: 8.599″ w x 5.079″ h
Box: 7.097″ w x 8.447″ h
Stick: 2.394″ w x 0.696″ h
Q: Can I use the Cricut Joy?
This box can be adjusted in size, but you will not be able to fit a gift card inside. It can still hold a very small trinket if cut it on the Cricut Joy.
Q: My glue makes my treat boxes lumpy. How do I fix this?
Use less glue! You may also want to upgrade your glue to a bottle with a smaller tip, such as the Bearly Art Precision Glue bottle.
Get my free SVG cut files to make your own Ice Cream Treat Box
I hope you’ll make one, several, or dozens of these gift boxes, and I’d love to see YOUR ice cream treat boxes and gift card holders … what colors will YOU use? Please share a photo in our Facebook group or tag me on social media with #jennifermaker.
Love,
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