Light & Sturdy Tarot Storage Box

Reading tarot is a simple and unique way to find a moment of introspection in the hectic world. However, most decks come in flimsy cardboard packages that lack durability and offer little protection for the cards.

I wanted to create an alternate storage system to keep my cards safe between uses, as well as to bring a personalized feeling to my readings. This project is accessible to crafters of all skill levels-- little to no woodworking or sewing expertise required! Stick with me and I promise to guide you through each step in the creation of your own mystical storage box.

For my design I focused on the following themes:

• Lightweight & Durable: My box should be portable and easy to store, while also sturdy enough to last for years to come (as opposed to the cardboard box which lasted only a few weeks).
• Protective Interior: My box should protect my cards from bending, tearing, and exposure to the elements.
• Use Upcycled/Scrap Materials: My box should be made predominantly of materials I already own (this is up to you if you want to purchase all-new materials for your box; I had a good amount of scrap from past projects which I used).
• Intentional Aesthetic Design: My box should be decorated to complement the atmosphere of my readings.

Read on to find out how I implemented these themes into my box, and keep in mind that this design is highly customizable. Throughout the instructable, I will highlight opportunities for personalization so that you can make this creation truly your own!

Tools*

• Tinkercad - for modeling & visualizing the design
• heavy-duty utility knife - for cutting the wood panels
• ruler - for measuring & making straight cuts
• 180-grit sandpaper and/or sanding block (here's a very simple way to make your own sanding block)
• hot glue gun - for tacking wood panels into place
• quick-grip clamps - for lining up the box geometry
• rotary cutter - for cutting fabric
• sewing machine and/or sewing needle - for sewing the fabric lining & cushions (if you really don't like sewing, you can use fabric glue)
• screwdriver

*These are the tools I used; I've included the purpose of the items so that you can use your own methods depending on what you have on hand.

Materials

• 1/8" thick hardwood (I used leftover luan scraps)
• wood glue
• painter's tape
• paint (I used black, blue, gold, and white spray paint)
• clear glaze
• fabric (I used an old green shirt that had torn)
• thread
• stuffing (for this I dissected an old stuffed animal)
• (optional) buttons for decoration
• (2) hinges + screws
• (1) clasp + screws

Step 1 is to design your box! At this point, the sky is the limit. Try asking yourself what you plan to use the box for, and what feelings you want your box to evoke. Are you looking for something simple and distinguished? Or colorful and psychedelic?

When I do a tarot reading, I imagine myself starting with a broad, expansive inquiry and narrowing it down to its root. By clarifying the question, I am able to think about the nature of my response. I decided that I wanted my design to represent this process-- a galaxy on the exterior of the box would represent endless possibilities and an earthy interior would symbolize grounding those possibilities in reality.

You can use lots of methods to help with this process-- I used pencil & paper, a Pinterest board, and Tinkercad. Tinkercad was especially helpful for understanding where the different panels of wood would join together, and for easily checking the dimensions of each piece. I started by measuring my physical cards, then creating a box-shaped "hole" with those dimensions (add 1/8" to each measurement for clearance). Then I built my panels at 1/8" thick around the hole.

Here is my design if you'd like to use it as a starting point: Tinkercad Tarot Box

You don't have to use a 3d modeling software, but I highly recommend doing a detailed drawing of your box so you can understand the construction.

Next, take the measurements from your Tinkercad model or drawing and cut out panels of wood for the base of your box.

My panels were the following dimensions:

• (1) 4.875" x 3.000"
• (2) 4.875" x 1.375"
• (2) 3.250" x 1.375"

I marked the dimensions on the wood in pencil, then used a straightedge to guide my utility knife against the markings. This method took 2-3 passes to cut all the way through. If you are using a thicker wood material (or if you want a faster cut), I would recommend cutting your panels with a jigsaw or a fine handsaw.

Once the pieces were cut, I used letters to indicate which edges were meant to line up for easier assembly later.

You may be tempted to cut the panels for the lid now as well. But I encourage you to hold off and focus on the base for now-- I promise we will get to the lid later and all will be explained.

Once your pieces are cut, use sandpaper to remove any roughness and splinters around the edges. Because my panels were on the smaller side, I found it very handy to use a sanding block (see the Materials list above for a guide on how to build your own).

Carefully run your finger against the edge of the panels to check if they are smooth before continuing.

Next, use a hot glue gun to tack your panels into place. You don't need a lot of glue here; this is only meant to hold the panels roughly in the correct position for the next step. A dot or two along each edge and corner should suffice.

In the second image, you can see that there is a slight gap between my panels. We will address this in the next step...

Use quick clamps to gently (but firmly) press your edge panels flush against the bottom of the base, eliminating any gaps.

Then, apply wood glue generously along the seams. I stuck some painter's tape to the bottom of the base to prevent any glue from dripping through, but this ended up being unnecessary. Allow the glue to dry completely (overnight if possible). It took me (3) applications to complete the base-- one to get all the bottom seams and another two for the corners.

As you can see in the last image, once everything dried the gaps between the panels were gone!

Don't worry too much about how the dried glue looks at this point; it will get covered up later.

Now that your base is assembled, take another pass with your sanding block and clean up any rough or uneven edges, including the bottom.

Sanding can be a tedious and even uncomfortable process but in my experience, it is always worth it. Cutting corners here can create problems with your alignment, paint, and even the tactile quality of the final product!

Remember how I asked you not to cut all of the panels for the base and lid at the same time? Now you'll find out why!

Unless you have a laser cutter, there's a good chance that between measuring your markings, hand-cutting the panels, and doing all that sanding your base measurements do not exactly match what you originally designed in Tinkercad. Even being 1/32" off can create a headache down the line.

So rather than referencing your original model, use your constructed base as a template for cutting your lid panels. This will make alignment of the two halves much smoother!

The next couple of steps get a little repetitive, as you copy the preparation of your base panels for those of the lid. Start by sanding off those rough edges!

Next, tack your panels into place with hot glue. Note that the construction of my panels is different for the lid than it was for the base-- I wanted to make sure the top of my lid was one smooth, continuous surface whereas the bottom of the base shows the edges of the side panels. It's a small detail, but one that pays off in the end product.

After your panels are held in place, clamp any gaps and apply wood glue to the seams. Since the lid is more shallow than the base, I did the bottom seams and edges all in one go this time.

You know the drill-- sand away any misalignment or sharp edges.

Time to test how well your two halves are aligned! Even after my trick of using the base as a template for cutting my lid, I had a little misalignment in the long direction. A few more passes of the sanding block and I was happy with how my base and lid lined up.

After this, you're done with the sandpaper! Congratulations!

Now we're onto the fun, creative part. Decorate your box with spray paint, acrylics, paint pens, wood stain, stickers-- whatever best suits your design!

As I mentioned, I wanted the exterior of my box to look like a star-filled galaxy. To accomplish this, I started with a layer of black spray paint on both halves.

After that dried, I alternated with my blue and gold spray paints and tried to lightly cover small sections of my box. I did this by holding the can far from the box and letting the paint mist over the surfaces. It took several coats, but I ended up getting a galaxy-cloud effect that I was quite happy with.

To get the stars I used a similar technique. But instead of angling the mist at the box, I held the spray nozzle close to the box surface and sprayed away from the box. At the nozzle, the paint dripped in a star-like pattern. Make sure the darker coats are completely dry before adding the stars, or they will not be as bright. You may want to practice this one before trying it on your box.

(In hindsight, I realize that going with a brush splatter-painting process would have probably been a much easier method for creating the stars. Good to remember for next time!)

However you decide to decorate your box, finish things off with a coat or two of clear glaze. This will help keep your design looking fresh and add a nice tactile finish.

The next part of the construction is adding the fabric lining to the inside of the box. Start by cutting one strip that is about 1/8" thicker than your base, and another that is about 1/8" thicker than your lid. The length of these pieces should be about 1/4" longer than the inside edge all the way around your box.

For my fabric, I used an old shirt that had the right earthy-green color for my natural interior. Because this box is on the smaller side, if you need to buy fabric I would recommend checking out the scraps bin at your local craft store!

Fold the lining such that the "wrong side" (the side that you don't want to see) is facing out. Sew or fabric glue each piece along the edge to make two loops.

This is a very easy way to apply an inner lining but it can still get a little complicated, so make sure to reference the images to understand my process.

Take the loop meant for the lid, and stretch it around the outside of the lid structure with the "wrong side" facing out. Then, apply a coat of wood glue to the inner edge of the lid. Carefully fold the end of your loop over the edge so that you capture a thin strip of the material all the way around your lid. Allow the glue to dry for an hour or so.

Snip slits at the corners of your loop, creating tabs of fabric at each edge. Apply wood glue to the inner edges of the lid, and carefully fold the tabs over and smooth them down.

Follow the same process for the base lining: wrap your loop "wrong side" out around the base, and glue down a thin stretch of fabric around the inner edge. Then snip the corners to create tabs of fabric and carefully glue them down to the inside edges of the base.

During my construction, I actually did this step before the lid lining. But, since the lid ended up going much more smoothly, I wanted to show you that one as an example first. In these pictures, I used binder clips to clamp down the edges of the fabric, but as I went on I found that this was unnecessary since my fabric naturally clung to the wet glue.

While your glue is drying on the lining, you can start cutting the fabric for your cushions. You want the dimensions to be about 1/4" wider around each edge than the inside face of your box. You will make (2) cushions, so cut a total of (4) pieces of fabric.

Pin your pieces together "wrong-side" out, then sew or glue around the edge. I wasn't having success with sharp corners, so I added chamfers to make them more rounded. Leave a small gap in your seam through which you can inside-out the cushion.

Inside-out your cushions so that the "right-side" is facing out and the seam is invisible.

For the lid cushion, I opted not to add any stuffing as I was happy with the thickness of just the fabric.

For the base cushion, I used stuffing from an old stuffed animal and added a few buttons that felt earthy to me. These helped keep the cushion from puffing up too much in the middle.

To close the cushions, hand-sew (or glue) the opening loosely so as not to create a visible seam, but tightly enough to keep the stuffing in.

Generously apply wood glue to the inside face of your base and lid, and press the cushions into place.

Once your fabric lining is complete, it's time to add the hardware!

Start by installing the hinges onto the edge of the base. Then, line up the lid and finish installing the hinges. For this, I used a rubber band to keep the two halves pressed together while I added the screws.

Then add the clasp to the front of the box. I recommend using the rubber band again to keep the two halves lined up and make sure your box is fully closed when the clasp is tight.

Side Note: This hardware is the only thing I purchased for the project. I could not actually find small hinges and a clasp on their own, but I did find a pre-made box for only $3 with the type that I wanted.

Congratulations on finishing your box!

Give yourself a pat on the back. I hope you are happy with your final product, and that you learned a little something along the way.

Thank you for reading and happy crafting!