Masu Box

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you would know that I love making boxes :) And the easiest boxes to make are masu boxes. Masu boxes are actually traditional Japanese wooden, square boxes that were used to measure rice.

The origami masu box is made from a square paper and results in a square box. These make great gift boxes, if a lid is added to it. The lid can also be made from paper the same size. Some minor variations to the regular masu box folding results in a slightly larger and shorter lid. Tutorial for this is coming your way! So stay tuned :)

As for the box, it is fairly sturdy if made from scrapbooking paper, printer paper or gift wrappers. If you want sturdier boxes, then it is better to cut out thin cardboard paper (say, from cereal boxes) and insert them into the base and sides of the box.

Model Details:

Model: Masu Box 

Origin: Traditional

Difficulty Level: Simple

Paper Ratio: Square

Paper Size: Any size from around 3 inches to 12  inches

Model Size: ~ a third of the paper size in width and a fifth in height. So if your paper is 6 inches, then the resulting box will be approximately 2 inches wide and 1.2 inches high.

Instructions: Origami Instructions