What actually makes it explode?

The lid. Every layer is a cross whose four walls fold up, and nothing is glued along the walls. Each layer is only a few millimetres smaller than the one outside it, so its walls lean on the walls outside them, and the lid holds the outer walls in. Lift the lid and the walls fall open one layer after another.

How much smaller is each layer?

Twice the gap, in the floor and the wall height alike. With the 3 mm gap it opens with, a 65 mm box has layers of 65, 59 and 53 mm, much like the classic quarter-inch steps of 4, 3¾ and 3½ inches. The gap has to be more than the card is thick, because each wall stands outside its own floor; the tool will not let it be less than the thickness plus 1 mm.

How do I put it together?

Decorate every panel first, while the card is flat. Then glue the layers to each other by their middle squares only, centred, the largest at the bottom. Do not glue any walls to each other, or only one layer will open. Glue the small gift box in the middle, fold every wall up and drop the lid on.

What is the box in the middle for?

The surprise. It is a small box with its own lift-off lid, glued into the centre of the innermost layer, for a ring, a note or a photo. Set its size to 0 if you do not want one. It is kept small enough for the inner walls to close round it, and no taller than they are, so the big lid still goes on.

Yes, piece by piece. At the size it opens with, the largest layer is 195 mm across, so every piece prints whole on A4 or US Letter and the PDF puts them over a few sheets. For the classic 4-inch box on 12 × 12 inch cardstock, set the outer box and the wall height to about 100 mm.

Exploding Box Template — Free Custom Size, PDF & SVG

The exploding box template, flat and folded

Exploding box template — free printable dieline with cut and fold lines, any size — The printable dieline at its standard size. Type your own size above for yours.

Exploding box folded up from the template — the finished box — The box it folds into.

What this template is for

The photo explosion box: nested layers that fall open flat when the lid is lifted, showing every wall and a small gift box in the middle. Anniversaries, birthdays, proposals and memory gifts.

Also called explosion box · nested memory box · photo explosion box — all the same shape, and this is it.

Photo and memory gift boxes
Anniversary and birthday surprises
Scrapbooking and card making
Proposal and announcement boxes

How to use this template

All four downloads are the same exploding box at the same size — only the format changes.

PDF printing at home: Print at 100 per cent, or hand it to a print shop as "actual size, no scaling".
PNG 300 dpi Canva, Photoshop, Procreate: Upload, lock it in place and design your exploding box on top. Free plan and phone included. Full Canva walkthrough →
SVG Cricut, Illustrator, Inkscape, Affinity: Vector, with cuts, folds and labels on separate layers. Cricut and Silhouette walkthrough →
DXF Silhouette, laser and vinyl cutters: Two layers, CUT and FOLD — and the one free Silhouette Studio Basic will open.

Getting it printed properly →

Printing it

Type your size above, then download the PDF.
Print at 100% — never “fit to page”, or every measurement comes out wrong.
Too big for the paper? Pick your paper size and leave Fit the pieces to the page ticked: each piece gets its own place on a sheet and the PDF comes out with every page in it, nothing cut in half and nothing to tape.

How to put it together

These pictures are the exploding box itself, not a generic diagram — change the measurements above and the template changes, but the three steps never do.

Cut the solid lines
Every solid line is a cut. Do the inside shapes first, while the sheet is still whole and easy to hold.
Score every dashed line
Dashed lines are folds. Score each one first — an empty ballpoint against a ruler — or the card cracks along the outside of the bend.
Fold, glue and hold
Decorate every panel before you fold anything. Glue each layer to the one below by its middle square only, centred, smallest on top — never glue the walls, or the box cannot open. Fold all the walls up, glue the centre box in the middle, and put the lid on: the lid is what holds it shut.

Glue: a glue stick for paper, white PVA on card — hold each seam thirty seconds, and let the box dry standing up.

Questions about the exploding box

What actually makes it explode?: The lid. Every layer is a cross whose four walls fold up, and nothing is glued along the walls. Each layer is only a few millimetres smaller than the one outside it, so its walls lean on the walls outside them, and the lid holds the outer walls in. Lift the lid and the walls fall open one layer after another.
How much smaller is each layer?: Twice the gap, in the floor and the wall height alike. With the 3 mm gap it opens with, a 65 mm box has layers of 65, 59 and 53 mm, much like the classic quarter-inch steps of 4, 3¾ and 3½ inches. The gap has to be more than the card is thick, because each wall stands outside its own floor; the tool will not let it be less than the thickness plus 1 mm.
How do I put it together?: Decorate every panel first, while the card is flat. Then glue the layers to each other by their middle squares only, centred, the largest at the bottom. Do not glue any walls to each other, or only one layer will open. Glue the small gift box in the middle, fold every wall up and drop the lid on.
What is the box in the middle for?: The surprise. It is a small box with its own lift-off lid, glued into the centre of the innermost layer, for a ring, a note or a photo. Set its size to 0 if you do not want one. It is kept small enough for the inner walls to close round it, and no taller than they are, so the big lid still goes on.
Will it print on A4?: Yes, piece by piece. At the size it opens with, the largest layer is 195 mm across, so every piece prints whole on A4 or US Letter and the PDF puts them over a few sheets. For the classic 4-inch box on 12 × 12 inch cardstock, set the outer box and the wall height to about 100 mm.

Print your own design on it

Add a logo, photo or pattern in the panel on the left and drag it onto the exploding box. It is trimmed to the cut outline, embedded properly in the PDF, and never leaves your computer — most free template sites hand you the outline and stop there. How printing your own design works.

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