Every Christmas I give my older nieces and nephew a gift card in a handmade gift card holder, designed and crafted by me. No two gift card holders are alike, as I like to make each one especially for the recipient. I have been told by my sister that these individualized gift card holders are enjoyed by the family members at least as much as the gift cards. They place them on the tree to admire until Christmas morning when they open their gifts.
This year, due to poor planning and over commitment on my part, I was unable to figure out which gift card to give to each of my nieces, so I settled on writing them each a check. I knew I could never just put these checks in a store bought holiday check card holder, so at the last minute I made each of them their own check holder. Well, I had a blast decorating and personalizing each of them! My sister told me not to even bother sending anything but the holders from now on, because they were loved and talked about for days. It's great to craft for those who appreciate i!. But I digress.
Because I needed to get those gifts in the mail ASAP, I never photographed them. Instead, I've made a new birthday check holder for my niece who will turn 18 this month.
Supplies: cardstock - your choice, strong adhesive (I used ATG tape), hook and loop closure, embellishments of your choice.
I used a scrap of birthday cardstock for the gift holder and smaller pieces for embellishing. Cut the cardstock to 7" X 8-1/2 ". Score the long side at 2.5" and 6". Fold and adhere.
Next, I cut a round hook and loop closure in half. Keeping both pieces stuck together, I removed adhesive from one side and placed it where I wanted it on the top inside of the open holder. Then I removed the adhesive on the bottom half of the closure and closed the card top to the bottom and pressed to adhere the hook and loop closure to the bottom of the check holder. This is the easiest way to make sure both pieces are in the right spot.
(dark paper strip is for contract so you can see the hook and loop closure against the white cardstock background)
These round shapes on the patterned cardstock screamed "Embellish Me". So I chose birthday themed stamps that would fit inside the circles. I also added some decorative brads, buttons, twine, and cardstock punched with circle and border punches.
Here is the finished holder with a pretend "check". A check measures 2.75" X 6". This holder will fit in a legal size envelope (with an inch to spare) for mailing.
I figure we have so much cardstock hanging around our craft rooms, why not use it whenever an opportunity arises?
Thanks for stopping by!
Carole
1 comments :
What a great idea and so cute too. Love it. TFS
"kind encouraging and inspiring words"
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