Anatomical Heart-shaped Box (for your unique Valentine.)

Is your Valentine a surgeon? med student? a goth? a cannibal? just a weirdo in general? This is the instructable for you!

If your love is real, your box of chocolates should look like a real heart!

Time: 3-4 hrs.
Cost: $0-$10, depending on what you already have around the house.

Materials:

1. Printed heart image (print at home or at copy store)
2. Scrap cardboard (corrugated is too thick; use something like a cereal box.)
3. Paper glue (a gluestick will work for steps 1-5, but you will need something stronger for steps 6-9.)
4. Construction paper, cardstock or other thick paper

Tools:

1. Sharp scissors or Xacto knife with cutting board.
2. Pencil.

Step 1: Get your heart image

First you need a heart printed on paper. For best results use some nice paper like cardstock or bond paper.

1. Google image search "human heart", "human heart model" or "anatomical heart" and choose a heart you like. Or you can look through one of those old European medical texts and scan an image from there.

2. Using an image editor, adjust the color, size, etc. of your heart to make it the way you want it. If you want a large box, use a full sheet. For a more regular-sized box, go with about a half sheet size.

3. Print the heart on your computer or take the image to a copy center and have them do it for you if your printer is not up to the task.

Comments

[zani87]

Great idea! Very easy to make, yet an awesome gift 8D I think I'm going to glue one more layer of cardborad inside to cover the little strips (just as you did the "stencil") :)

[Bindlestiff]

Cool. I hope your significant other isn't squeamish!

[zani87]

No, not at all :D He will be surprised but he's going to like it

[zani87]

I also did my version finally, and decided to fill it with gummy hearts.
It's made of a frosted pizza's box, so i painted it outside and side as well, and finished it with a layer of varnish I used to use for decoupage :)

This is the outcome:

[Bindlestiff]

Holy crap! That is awesome!

And, I might add, much prettier (and much more disgusting) than mine. Stellar!

[zombiefire]

could u give me the link for the picture

[Bindlestiff]

Ah! I finally found it:

http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.51627446.jpg

[zombiefire]

will post photos soon

[zombiefire]

thanks

[notsobright]

This is so fun! I made these for my sons (ages 10 and 12) and some of their nerdy (I use that term fondly and because that's how they refer to themselves), so I used a somewhat cartoonish heart and added labeling for the heart's main parts (aorta, left ventricle, etc.). My boys are really into science and anything geeky and weird, so this is perfect! I did use the back of a butter knife to score the fold on my box sides, which made making the fold really easy. I also found that using a pair of student (small, elementary-student-sized) Fiskar scissors worked great for cutting the "fringe." Also, spray adhesive is one of my favorite things, and made for a nice smooth finish on the top of the box. (I know it doesn't seem like the best choice environmentally, but it just works so darn good)! Another recommendation I have is to be sure and use card stock, rather than regular printer paper, for printing the image onto. This is my first instructables project. Thanks so much for sharing!

[Bindlestiff]

Sounds like you made some cool modifications. Any chance I can talk you into posting photos of your boxes?

[dehlome]

I will make this for my mom this valentines day, shes a x-ray tech. I will fill it with heart shaped candies, a pardox of hearts.

[Bindlestiff]

I would be very interested to see how it turns out. Post a photo if you get a chance!

[dehlome]

sure thing!

[Biggsy]

I like this...welldone

[Bindlestiff]

Thank you, ma'am.