Christmas Gift Card + toot

Hello dear friends. It's my second post of the day. I want to share with you a simple project that I started last Friday but only just managed to finish today.

For this gift card holder, I used Tuesday Morning Sketch #161, Crimbo Crackers #23 "Gift Card",  Christmas Stampin' All Year Long "26 "Anything But a Card" and a brand new Anything But A Card challenge. I think this is a fun little project, perfect for last minute gifts and can be adapted for any occasion / season. Last year I made a few to give to friends and family. Click here for Christmas 2011 samples.

Xiara loved sitting by our pond in
the garden, watching the turtle.

When I started this project I had no idea how the weekend would pan out. I made this to give away as a gift for Christmas 2012. I won't be doing that now. You see, it's the last project I made in Xiara's company. She's almost always with me as I craft and this project was no exception. Sadly, my adorable kitty passed away on late on Saturday, Sept 1 and I cannot bear to part company with our final session together. I'll probably convert it into a mini album of sorts to house some pictures of Xiara.




But for now, let me show you the gift card holder:

I was going for a vintage look. The patterned papers are from Dovecraft  Vintage Christmas. I also rotated the sketch.

I made a little tag to slide behind the label to say "A gift ... just for you" The stamps are from WMS. And quite nicley, we have just the perfect greeting from the patterned paper. I did my stamping with Memento Rhubarb Stalk to match.

In keeping with the vintage theme, I inked all the pieces with Vintage Photo. For embellis  I used some chunky green bling.

It opens up like a little booklet. There's ample space on the first page for a handwritten message. However, I'm going to put some pix on this page. The gift card slides into the slot in the middle panel.

On the last page, I made a pocket for a tag / photo.  The sentiment is  from WMS.

Supplies:
Paper: Dovecraft Back to Basics Vintage Christmas 8x8 pack
Stamps: Waltzing Mouse Stamps "Compliments of the Season" and "Compact Sentiments"
Ink: Memento Rhubarb Stalk; Tim Holtz Distress Ink "Vintage Photo"
Dies: Spellbinders Labels 16  S3-301; Labels 18  S3-301 


Tomorrow I'll post a pictutorial on how to construct the base card and with this you can dress it up to suit any occasion. Until then, thank you for stopping by.

Toot update:

As promised here is the pictutorial:

Start with a piece of CS measuring 5.5" x 12". Score on the 12" side as shown above: at 3.5" , 6" and 8.5"

Now fold as marked: V=valley fold & M=mountain fold. You should be looking down on a "W" -ish piece of CS.

Fold down and crease well. With the middle section folded, centre your gift card and mark the length as shown above. Mark it a hair longer than the gift card. This is where you will slide in the gift card and you want in to go in and out without snagging, but not so loose that it will fall out.

With your craft knife cut along the crease line between the points marked.  

Next, take a round or oval (as I have used above) and cut out a notch, so that you can get to the gift card easily. 

Flip it over and apply adhesive along the 3 sides as shown above, approximately  0.25" from the edge. You can use tape (snail or Score-tape) or wet glue (Helmar's or Scotch) but make sure you only apply it along the edge on the area shown. You want to create a pocket to hold the card.

When you slide in the gift card ...

... this is how it should rest in the pocket. The gift card is safely away from the adhesive. Otherwise the card will be stuck down in the pocket, giving the recipient reason to suspect your generosity! Apply adhesive and seal the deal.

And this is what the base card should look like when all done. Now all you have to do is decorate as you please.

I hope you'll give this a ago, it's easy and so versatile. I always have a couple of base cards all ready to decorate in an instant. And it's reusable by the recipient in a number of ways. I've seen these in action as a bus pass holder, library card holder, secret money wallet; to name a few.


Beijinhos


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