pillowbox gift card holder

i have to confess that if anything, i'm having even MORE fun at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ this year, since we've gone fortnightly; apart from anything else, i just *love* having two go's at each prompt, it's a chance to "push the envelope" a bit more... or in this case, perhaps more accurately to, "embellish the pillowbox until it exceeds recommended weight limits" lol! :) :) :) yeah. i might've gone very sliiiiiiiiiiiiightly overboard with the swirly rub-ons. and yet, upon reflection, i actually don't think i'd remove a single one of them, even if i could. so there! 

(pillowbox template: assorted pillowbox set by  regina easter, the cutting cafe; patterned paper: fancy pants, sei; transparency: hambly*; fuzzy velor paper +snowflake brad: doodlebug; lace snowflake paper: ki memories; velvet puffy flower (with center replaced): creative charms; rub-ons: making memories; bling swirls (trimmed and re-constructed): recollections; ink: colorbox; adhesives: tombow monorunner)

i absolutely love this pillowbox template from the cutting cafe, i've had it for years and years** but it's still my "go to"; it comes with a bunch of different windows and frame shapes, but again, this one is my fave.  i cut the base of the box out of the same paper from which i made my gift card folder last week, and sort of vaguely planned to go with the blues and reds again, but i'd got out (then not used) these velvet flowers whilst making madeline's princess crown, and one of them wound up sitting on top of the template along with some white scraps and i had a bit of an "AHA!" moment so i went with it.

i miiiiiiiight have left it there if i wasn't also inspired by the current corrosive challenge-- (#149 flowers and doilies and bling, oh my!) --in which we're asked to combine at least two out of the three. and let's face it, when you have lots of rub-on flourishes, a couple (or LOTS!!!) of tiny bling ones just really enhance the whole flourishy mojo, don't they? incidentally, i do know, on the face of it, there's not much SENSE in stacking flowers and snowflakes together; but i still do it all the time and i always love the look, so i see no reason to stop now!

the great thing about using a pillow box for giving gift cards, imo, is that it looks like a slightly more "substantial" gift... and in fact, it can actually BE a more substantial gift, because you've got room to slip in some little candies and/or tiny presents in addition to the g/c itself. inside mine is a coordinating card in which i can write a little note, a michael's g/c***, and a holiday clear stamp... all wrapped in some coordinating tissue paper:

but remember, you needn't make a fancy set to play along with us at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ this week... you could do a pocket card, or incorporate a little envelope into your design, or even alter/improve a store-bought gift card holder. so c'mon along and join stef, myself, and our uber-talented lovely guest-star gina cunningham as we see how "gifted" we can be! ♥

*can i just say how UTTERLY BUMMED i am to hear that in preparation for "winding down operations" hambly studios will no longer be designing new product?! i don't know if this means that they will also stop producing their current lines, and if so, what the time frame will be; but any way you slice it, the world of art supplies has just lost another really great company in terms of both cool/innovative design and high quality product. very sad. 


**i *think* i may have won it in a challenge at 2sketches4you! hands up all who still totally miss laura, kazan and the gang! (me! ME!!!)


***ok, technically this is my michaels' loyalty swipey card thing, bravely playing the role of "holiday gift card" howsabout a round of applause for that stellar performance?! :)