I don’t know about you – but I suspect that I will be running through the pharmacy or the market to pick up last-minute gift cards as I dash around getting ready for the holiday.
Have you noticed that all the gift card holders are made for nothing BUT the credit card-sized ones? There is almost nothing that is made to fit the gift cards that you just buy off of the rack with the hangtags attached. And who carries scissors with them when you are on your way to a holiday party at work or on the weekend? I sure don’t…
So that is what is inspiring today’s cards. I need to have a few of these that can be ready for those “last minute, hand the gift card directly to the recipient” events. These are not the usual measurements and they do not fit into the traditional envelopes for an A2 card…but be patient as I have a pretty good solution:
Here are the card measurements for card #1:
| Pcs | Measurements | Description | |
| Stampin’ Up Real Red cardstock | 1 | 4-1/4” x 11” | Scored on the long side at 3” and 8-1/4” |
| Stampin’ Up! Santa Express DSP (I used the Christmas gift print.) | 1 | 2-1/2” x 4” | Mat for the card face. |
| Stampin’ Up! Santa Express DSP | 1 | 2-3/4” x 4” | My word of caution on this is to be sure that you cut the DSP so that it will be in the direction that you want when the card is closed. |
| Stampin’ Up! Real Red Cardstock | 1 | 1” x 11” | This will be the belly band for the card. |
| Stampin’ Up! Evening Evergreen cardstock | 1 | Scrap | This needs to be enough to cut out a 2” circle from the Layering Circles die set. |
And here are the measurements for card #2:
| Pcs | Measurements | Description | |
| Stampin’ Up Real Red cardstock | 1 | 6” x 8-1/2” | Scored on the long side at 2-1/4” and 6” |
| Stampin’ Up! Santa Express DSP (I used the Christmas gift print.) | 1 | 2-1/4” x 5-3/4” | Mat for the card face. |
| Stampin’ Up! Santa Express DSP | 1 | 2” x 5-3/4” | Again – just be sure that you are sure that the orientation of the design is right for your card. |
| Stampin’ Up! Real Red Cardstock | 1 | 1” x 8-1/2” | This will be the belly band for the card. |
| Stampin’ Up! Evening Evergreen cardstock | 1 | Scrap | This needs to be enough to cut out a 2” circle from the Layering Circles die set. |
The cuts are very easy. The only addition that I made to the cardstock and the two DSP panels was to round the corners of the two flaps. You can use a corner-rounder punch if you have it – Stampin’ Up! used to sell them but we currently do not. OR you can do the rounding yourself.
I trace a rounded edge on the reverse side of the cardstock or DSP and fussy cut it. It isn’t hard – once you find something round to trace! I have a tube of hand cream on my desk and that would be perfect. But as it happens, I also keep a nail file on my crafting table, and this always does the trick.
The Stampin’ Up! Tear and Tape is awesome for adhering pockets together. It is very strong! Be sure that you apply the tape right along the edge of the card, then fold it and seal.
I think that the top flap is a perfect place for your message – which you can write on the fly!
The belly band is the “fashion statement” though. As you generally would, create the band to fit loosely around the card because the gift card and the backing add bulk to it. I lay the band on the table and place the card in the center. I fit it loosely and then adhere the ends in the center. You will have extra that you can trim down. The medallion will cover the seam.
I fussy cut one of the little groups of gifts from the Santa Express DSP – which was very quick and easy. (Most of the cuts are straight lines!) I glued the gifts to the center. But here is the very cool feature: I used the Stampin’ Up! Snow Falls Accent Puff Paint to create a little bit of snow at the bottom of the presents!
If you have not tried this product, think about it! You paint it onto the card and then use the Heat Tool to dry it. The stuff puffs up and looks soooo cute! I added some Wink of Stella to make it glisten because I’m one of those sparkly girls – and it looks like the most beautiful Christmas Morning Snow that you can imagine!
But here is the even cooler part: because you are giving this to someone in person, you do not really need an envelope. That’s a good thing since these cards are off-size. I used the tiny hook and loop dots to seal the cards rather than hoping that the belly band would do the job. If you have never seen these before, they are available in most of the local stationary shops (Staples, Office Max) or on Amazon.
(As of this writing, I am NOT an Amazon affiliate – but check in the right margin of my home page for any updates.)
The medallion still looked a little stark to me, so I decided to outline the circle with a white gel pen, as you can see in the picture. I have seen my friend and upline, Mary Deatherage, do this and it always looks so cool – so I gave it a try!
With the belly band assembled and the hook and loop dots adhered, I was ready to go – or dash, as needed!
I think that these would be great to have available throughout the year, just in case you have that friend or colleague’s birthday that gets away from you! (Not that this has EVER happened to me…)
A handmade card always says (oh so casually…) “I would NEVER forget your birthday” …even it just happened to be pre-made and ready to go for a celebratory emergency.
Just sayin’…
Very cute! Great idea to make the gift card holder for the cards that are stuck to those paper backings! 🙂
Perfect – I have two gift cards sitting here in their “GORGEOUS” store packaging that I need to make a couple of these for! Thanks for the great directions! 🙂