Inspire Me.... for Gift Giving!

Hi all and welcome to another Inspire Me Monday! Today, I am reaching back into the recesses of my mind (I had to watch out for cobwebs!) to bring back a tutorial I learned probably 8 years ago. It’s a fun one and today, I’m putting a bit of a twist on it!

When the holidays roll around, who doesn’t need a supply of gift card holders? With nieces and nephews that are hard to shop for.... I know I do! So, why not create a gift card holder from something you have a ton of in your craft room -- ENVELOPES! 

LET’S GET STARTED!

Here’s a peek at what we are going to make.....

I started with a regular kraft envelope and folded it in half and then using scissors, I cut down the center fold only to the flap. I glued down one side and then kept the other side free so that I could put my gift card inside! I stamped the sentiment on the lower left corner and colored.... just like this!

Now the fun starts! This is the part when we deck out our envelope! Using the brand new Frosted Gingerbread set, I stamped the border a few times on a 2-1/2" by 4" piece of kraft card stock using Espresso Truffle Memento Ink. I used the E42 Copic Marker to accent around and give my candies, cookies and gingy people some shading. I used a white gel pen to color the white accents and give these guys some pop! 

I colored my candies and gingerbread people with Copic Spica glitter pens and I mean to tell you -- they have some sparkle!!! You can kind of see it here! 

I layered the main panel up on some glitter paper (2-5/8" by 4-1/8") and then again on some plaid decorative paper (2-7/8" by 4-3/8"). 

I then cut a belly band to help me hide one of the key ingredients in my gift card holder! 

Do you see that there? YES, it’s a magnet! 

PLEASE NOTE: If you are using this gift card holder for a gift card with an active magnetic strip, don’t use a magnet but scroll down and see the option for just a belly band that can be slid over your finished gift card holder! This holder is perfect for physical gift certificates or anything small that could be slid into that little pocket! 

Okay... moving on! 

Now, using adhesive, secure the belly band over the magnet on the front of your envelope to hide it from view! Like every magnet, you need a positive and a negative. The negative is under the band. How am I going to attach and hide the positive? Well, that’s where this darling little heart comes into play! 

After stamping the sentiment from the set onto a heart die cut using Memento Love Letter Ink, I added some shading with the E42 Copic Marker, added some paper piercing and some bling! 

And this, is the backside -- a great spot for my magnet!

I want to make sure to hide this magnet too, so after attaching my main heart to the belly band, I went ahead and attached a second die cut heart over top! (You can see I also decked out the inside with some coordinating decorative paper for some extra pizazz!)

But one thing to note! Because the second heart would have interfered with the fold of the belly band, you need to notch off one side of the heart making a line where the fold would be and then trimming off that portion, like this.....

And, no creation is complete with a little somethin’-somethin’ on the back, right?

And that, my friends, is it! A cute little magnetic gift card holder that takes just a few minutes to make! If you don’t have magnets, you can always add a bit of ribbon and tie a bow instead of the belly band. And, like I mentioned earlier -- you could even make a belly band and attach it -- sliding this segment over your finished gift card holder! This band below is 1" tall by 8" and scored at the 3" and the 6" marks. After scoring, fold over and attach the two sides with glue dots, covering the seam with the heart! 

So many options crafty peeps! So many options! Thanks for stopping by and spending some time with me! Hope you have a wonderfully creative week! 

~Julie