We have a video tutorial!
If you wish to watch a video assembly tutorial for our school bus box, we have one on our YouTube channel.
Materials Used
We used several products and supplies in the making of this fun school bus. Below is a list of what we used.
- School Bus Teacher Appreciation 3D Gift Box – Digital Download SVG
- Recollections cardstock
- Art Glitter Glue
- Electric Cutting Machine – Cricut or Silhouette
Decorative Pieces
This school bus file goes together super quick and easy! We opted to start with the fun part (decorations!) but you can start with the box shape if you prefer.
To start assembling the decorative sides, we layered two circles together to make the wheel. You’ll note the file comes with 8 solid circles; this is so that each bus wheel can have 2 layered together for extra strength. Once the tires are on the school bus side panels, we added the ‘donut’ shape that makes the hubcap of the tire. We did this for all the bus’s tires.
We then added the stripes on the sides of the school bus. These don’t have a designated spot on the side of the bus. Place them as you like best and matches your local buses, not all buses have stripes the same. Once the stripes were attached, we added the stop sign on what will be the driver’s side of the school bus. To assemble the door, we put the layers together as shown. The door is made of just two layers. We then added the door to the other side panel.
We then assembled the back of the bus, adding the door panels, stripes, and lights. We also added the decorative lights to the front panel of the bus. Sorry, we forgot to take a photo of this step, but this is what it looks like when complete.
School Bus Box Assembly
With all the fun parts decorated and ready, we put together the box shape. The top of the box starts with four pieces. Two sides, a rectangle for the back, and one with a couple folds that makes the front. We added glue to the tabs and attached the sides of the bus to the back first. Then we worked on adding the front. To do this we started at the bottom of the box and attached the front panel two tabs at a time until all six were in place.
Once the bus shape was complete, we added glue to the tabs on the inside then placed the bottom panel to close off the shape. This leaves tabs exposed on the bottom so once the panel was secure, we turned the school bus over and added glue to another bottom panel, making 2 layers of paper on the bottom. This gives some extra strength to the box as well as covering the exposed tabs.
With the bus shape complete, we added all four decorative panels, one at a time.
Once they were all in place, we added the roof. The roof of the school bus is also the lid. It is a rectangular piece with four tabs. You can choose which tab (only 1) to glue, allowing you to decide what direction the bus lid opens. We chose to have the hinge side on the diver side.
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