Mini Milk-Carton Gift Container
A single-cut miniature carton with reverse-folded triangular roof gussets, a glued upright ridge seal and four folding bottom flaps. No handle.
Materials
- 160-180 gsm cardstock
- Scissors
- Ruler and blunt scoring tool
- PVA craft glue
- Small clips for the ridge seal
Finished size: 36 x 36 x 92 mm (60 mm body, 24 mm roof rise, 8 mm seal)
Steps
CutValley foldMountain foldGlue area
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Print, cut and identify
Print at 100% and measure the 50 mm ruler. Cut the outer perimeter of P1, including the narrow gaps between bottom flaps. Do not cut score lines. With print facing you, identify the four 36 x 60 mm walls and the rightmost 8 mm joining tab.
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Score the complete net
Score all marked lines on the printed inside. Pre-fold wall corners and bottom hinges inward 90 degrees. At 60 mm above the base, pre-fold the roof shoulders inward. The 30 mm roof bands end at the 8 mm ridge strips. Reverse-fold the two diagonal lines of each side gusset as mountains and its ridge-strip midpoint as a valley; leave these loose until closing.
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Glue the vertical tube seam
Wrap the four walls into a 36 mm square tube. Turn the 8 mm seam tab inward at its long hinge and glue its unprinted face behind the first 8 mm of the front panel. Match the base, 60 mm shoulder, 90 mm roof-band edge and 98 mm top edge exactly. Glue all three tab sections, including roof and seal, without bridging their hinges. Press from inside while the bottom and top remain open; let dry.
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Fold and glue the bottom
Turn the tube upside down. Fold the two 16 mm side dust flaps inward 90 degrees first, then the front 22 mm flap. Finally fold the back 22 mm flap over it: the long flaps overlap 8 mm. Apply glue to the marked 6 x 30 mm band on the printed face of the back flap, 1 mm inside its free edge. Press the overlap against a finger through the open roof and let it dry flat. Keep glue off the remaining hinges.
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Dry-fold the roof and load
Push each side gusset top midpoint 18 mm toward the carton center while bringing the front and back roof edges together. The 30 mm slopes run 18 mm inward and rise 24 mm; the shoulder fold turns 36.87 degrees from vertical. Both gusset tips meet at the ridge center. Pinch the diagonal reverse folds so the wings nest beneath the roofs. Bend all 8 mm ridge strips upright; dry-fit a straight 36 mm ridge. Reopen gently and insert a lightweight dry non-food gift.
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Seal the upright ridge
Refold the gussets inward and roof slopes together. Apply a thin glue film within the marked ridge bands, leaving 1 mm clear of each edge, then also between any touching unprinted gusset-strip faces so all layers bond. Keep glue off the sloping roof and diagonal creases. Align the 36 mm top edge at 92 mm above the base and clip the full 8 mm-high ridge until dry. This is a permanently sealed gift carton, not a liquid container.
Notes
The 3D model shows each piece in its finished, idealized shape; the exploded view only spreads the pieces apart. It is not a paper-physics simulation: curved shapes are forming guides, not exact physical folding or proof of developability, and intermediate fold shapes are not supplied.
- Original gift-container construction, not liquid or food packaging. Use only light, dry non-food gifts.
- One 152 x 120 mm cut net. Panels run front, right gusset, back, left gusset, then the 8 mm seam tab from left to right.
- Roof slope length is 30 mm: 18 mm horizontal run and 24 mm rise. Each gusset has diagonals from its two shoulder corners to the midpoint of the 36 mm top edge; the midpoint tucks 18 mm inward.
- Fold types are viewed from the printed inside face. Keep print inward; the unprinted face is the outside.
- Mesh uses exact rigid faces, including all seam, ridge and bottom material. Paper/glue thickness and stacked layers are idealized as zero thickness; springback and seal compression require physical trials.
- The sealed ridge is permanent: insert the gift before gluing it. No pouring spout, handle or reusable closure is provided.
- Physical printing, cutting and assembly are pending; extra screen review is deferred.