How are you at choosing gifts? I have to admit that when it comes to gift selection, I'm not always
the best. For instance, I now know better than to choose clothes for my
teenage niece! One gift that is truly a one-size-fits-all is a gift
card to the recipient's favorite store or restaurant. As I was working
on a gift card enclosure a few days ago, I came up with one that I
thought might be helpful to share with my blog friends. I have attached a .pdf template with measurements. Download Giftcard_Holder_DO_4_08.pdf
This partially open view shows how the top flap tucks behind the
scalloped circle piece in order to keep the folder shut. You can slide
the ribbon off and slide it back on, but the card will stay shut with
or without the ribbon on.
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The interior has a scalloped asymmetrically curved top flap, a panel
for your sentiment and signature, and a pocket panel for the gift card.
That's the gist of it! If you'd like to see my step-by-step process, keep scrolling. . . and scrolling. . .
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- I began with a piece of cardstock cut to 4-1/4" x 11", then
scored at 4-1/4" and 8-1/2" leaving a 3-1/2" flap. I used my
Spellbinders Paisley Nestabilities to trim the flap asymmetrically. If
you are crunched for time, you could use a Coluzzle template to round
the top flap, or simply use a corner rounder on the edges of the top
flap.
- Next I placed my paisley die blade-side down on only the top edge
of my PaperTrey Stamper's Select White cardstock. If you look
carefully, you can see the score line; that is the score between the
top flap and the body of the card. The tricky part is in the next few
steps! If you are using a corner rounder, you can skip to step 6.
- To avoid getting an unwanted crease on your cardstock, place your
white spacer plate only on the part of the template that needs to cut.
This particular white plate is one that I had cut into accidentally and
warped, so I used an old pair of scissors to trim it slightly so that I
can fit it through my Spellbinders Wizard without bumping into the side
of the machine.
- After cutting the cardstock, place it on the tan embossing mat
and run it back through the die cutter to get an embossed edge. You
can't see it here, but to avoid getting an unwanted crease, I will take
this little die/cardstock stack and move it to the bottom end of my
plate before sending it through the machine. That way I won't get an
impression from the part of the paisley die that I am not using.
- This is what my embossed edge now looks like.
- I saved the scrap that I cut from the white cardstock base in order to line up my patterned paper (from the 6" x 6" Pink Patterns pad), then cut and embossed the patterned layer. (I
realized after I'd already finished taking pictures that I showed the
plain paisley die here, then ended up choosing to use the scalloped
paisley die for this layer--mea culpa!) Alternative/simpler idea:
you could use temporary adhesive to attach the patterned paper right on
top of the cardstock in step 4 and cut them both at the same time. Then
you would trim 1/16" off both sides of the patterned paper, attach it
permanently to the scalloped base flap, and skip this step!
- This is what my finished flap looks like now.
- Next, I used my Stampin' Up Word Window Punch to punch the bottom
panel of the cardstock base. Be sure to slide the punch in as far as it
will go; that way it will be simple to align for your second punch.
(One punch will not yield a wide enough opening for a gift card. ) I
left about 1" on either side of the card unpunched. This view was shot after I had punched and then folded the cardstock on my scoreline to let you see the punch from the back side.
- I cut a piece of patterned paper 4-1/8" square to cover the
outside lower part of my card. (NOTE: you may need to trim just a
sliver (1/32" or so) of cardstock from the bottom edge of the card in
order for it to fold perfectly flat.) If you look carefully, you can
see a lighter area where my base layer is punched for the gift card.
This patterned layer is to cover the hole and form the rest of the
pocket. When you use adhesive on this layer, you must take care to
put no adhesive where the card will need to slide into the pocket. I
used a short length of 1/8" redline tape at the very bottom of this
layer to keep the gift card from coming through.
- This is an inside view after I added the patterned paper on the
outside. You can see the slot for the gift card, backed by patterned
paper from the card front, where my paper piercing tool is pointing.
- I stamped flowers and leaves from the Boxes, Bags, and Tags set
that coordinates with the Pink Patterned paper, then used my
Spellbinders circle dies to cut a flowered layer and a mat layer. (Mat
layer is cut from PaperTrey's Sweet Blush cardstock. Ink is PaperTrey's Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, and Spring Moss.)
- To attach the round scalloped layer, I used foam tape only on the bottom third. This is important since the scallop will also serve to hold your card shut. If you get the foam tape too high, you won't be able to tuck the top of the flap under the scalloped circle.
- This is how your gift card will stay shut--by tucking the top flap under the scalloped circle. I also added a Sweet Blush Stitched grosgrain ribbon as well as a tag (sentiment from Mixed Messages). The ribbon can be slipped on and off; it doesn't need to be untied in order to open the card.
- Inside of the card is stamped with PaperTrey's Birthday Basics set, with a cut-out, Stickled flower from the Boxes, Bags, and Tags set added at the gift card slot.
If you click on any of the pictures in this LONG tutorial, you should get a larger view. Enjoy, and thanks for visiting! Heather Nichols has a great PaperTrey sneak peek for you today, and I'm quite sure that Nichole will have something amazing as well!
