Friday 12 December 2014

Let’s Celebrate at AVJ

Nikki is hosting our ‘Let’s Celebrate’ challenge which will take us up to Christmas, but of course with a wide open title like this you could be choosing one of a number of different things to celebrate.
You can make something to celebrate Christmas if you wish but lets not forget about those December birthdays, anniversaries, Hanukkah and New Years. It may be fun to focus on celebrations other than Christmas, it's up to you.

At this time of the year Christmas is very special to us as a family and we celebrate the season in a number of ways, one of which is giving gifts. If your children are grown up like mine then these days they don’t seem to want for much and they enjoy receiving gifts of money or tokens. This year I decided to make my own gift card holders.
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Cut two pieces of card one 10 cm wide  x 18cm tall and one 14 cm wide x 6 1/2 cm tall.  Create a distressed background with stains and the wrinkle free technique. Repeat on the other side of the larger piece.
Take the larger piece and score at 5 cm on one side of the longest edge and 6 1/2 cm on the other end. Punch a semicircle or semi oval on the 5 cm end.
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Take the small piece and score at 2cm on both ends of the longest side. (Here beware the thickness of the card, you might need to score at 21mm so that this wraps around the larger piece properly). Cut out a 2cm square on two of the corners and a fraction off the bottom diagonally so that the flap will fit inside neatly.
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Work out which bits of the card holder are going to be upright and stamp randomly, I used Tim’s music score and text from Letter to Santa and Festive Sounds stamp sets with coffee archival ink.. Use a sticky note to mask off any section that you don’t want to stamp over. Round the corners of the large piece as shown and ink the edges before we adhere anything together.
Cut two pieces of ribbon/seam binding, I cut mine 30 cm and 25 cms long and sandwich it between the top and bottom layer when you adhere them together.
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On the inside I stamped a greeting….
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… and on the outside I added some glossy holly stamping using Tim’s technique that he used on on Tag 10 in 2011. I used Mini Holidays 2 and 4 for the holly stamps. I also cut and added the Noel die-cut from the Holiday Words – Script thinlits dies.
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The ribbon ties around the wallet and it’s all ready to hold that gift card for that someone special.

I know it’s a big rush now to get everything sorted, decorating, cooking, buying and wrapping presents, but if you find yourself with some crafty time then we hope you will join us on our ‘Lets Celebrate’ journey.

Take care.

hugs Brenda xxx

29 comments:

Julia Aston said...

What a lovely gift card package Brenda! The staining looks wonderful along with the music stamping!

Deb said...

Very pretty, thank you for sharing!

Rita said...

Brilliant and beautiful gift wallet Brenda. I'll definitely be giving this one a try as like you say once children and grandchildren grow up they prefer gift cards or money. Thank you for a great tutorial. Hugs Rita xxx

S@ndy Diller said...

What a beautiful and wonderful way to put a personal touch on a monetary gift. Your gift cards are simply lovely. I'm sure they will be well received.

Gaby Bee said...

This gift wallet looks fantastic, Brenda. Thanks for the tutorial.

Gaby

Astrid Maclean said...

Great looking wallet Brenda, both the in and the outside look super, and a great idea too!

Jane said...

A gorgeous gift wallet Brenda...what a lovely way to present a voucher....it really becomes a gorgeous gift in your creative hands xx

Redanne said...

This is such a fantastic idea Brenda and it looks amazing with your wonderfully creative finishing! Hugs, Anne xx

Jenny Marples said...

Brilliant Brenda. A great design that you've decorated perfectly. Jenny x

Margreet said...

Gorgeous wallet Brenda!
xxx Margreet

Gram's Treasures said...

This is adorable, Brenda, and I'm sure the recipients will think so too!
Joyce xx

massofhair said...

Brill step by step Brenda, your wallets are fantastic :-) xxx

Juliz Design Post said...

Love your stamping and inking techniques on your wallet. Great design and tips to make sure stamping upright for gift card being folded.
Have a lovely weekend, Julie x

Nicole Wright Designs said...

I love your gift card holder Brenda! Where were you last week when I had to make 20 of these. This is way easier then what I tackled. Love this quick card holder!!!!

Terry said...

Funny thing is my grown up children and grandkids like the gift of cash as well!!! Brenda, I love your gift holder. Such a clever design and oh so lovely! Have a beautiful weekend! It is pouring here and I mean buckets! Hugs!

Silvia(Barnie) said...

That's an amazing creation.

Meggymay said...

A beautiful gift holder, love all the colours and images.
Yvonne x

Nikki Acton said...

Stunning - I know I have seen it! Will be back to 'borrow' the design for my nieces Christmas vouchers! Nikki xx

Words and Pictures said...

Such a lovely gift wallet, Brenda - perfect for adding vouchers or money to help the recipient celebrate! The music and holly stamping is so pretty.
Alison xx

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Love this fold!!! Great vintage feel and stamping!

Jools Robertson said...

Brilliant gift card holder, love the distress background
Gorgeous colours and stamping
Such a great way to present them

Jools x

Paper Profusion said...

Sooo gorgeously vintage Brenda! Just opened up yesterday my packet of those holiday words dies - will have to try to label each one as they are a bother to have to decipher!! Nicola x

Marjie Kemper said...

Who wouldn't love opening that gorgeous envelope? It's gorgeous!

Jennie Atkinson said...

Fabulous wallet card Brenda and such a gorgeous background. Thanks for sharing the measurements and how to. I think this would make a brilliant wallet for many things. Jennie x

crafty creations said...

Stunning wallet Brenda - a gift in itself

Have a wonderful Christmas and a Healthy New Year

barbarayaya62 said...

Amazing envelope! I love all details and colors in your project! Beautiful idea! BArbarayaya

Elaine aka Ellapu said...

This is so different to usual cards and I love it. Love vintage and you have certainly pulled this off... fabulous xx

sarascloset said...

Wow! Here's a case where the wrapping is better than the gift! Not that cash is bad:)! Or gift cards!:) :) But your wallet is just perfect and a wonderful gift in itself! I am pinning for future gifting purposes. I am terrible coming up with dimensions for projects, so to have the work done is a gift! A LITTLE late getting to check out the Creative Guides great works, so I'll have to say Happy New Year!

Juls said...

This is so creative, love it :-) xx