Gift Card Holder

Welcome to our Paper Anthology World Cardmaking Day (or in this case Weekend!) Online Crop. We've got ten inspiring challenges that will roll out over the next three days, plus trivia quizzes, chats and more. Be sure to visit the Paper Anthology Facebook Page for all the details. This challenge might be self-explanatory, as the name implies, we'd like to see gift card holders. With the holiday season approaching, we'll all need at least a few of these ubiquitous items, and frankly the store-bought variety are just too expensive and not cute enough, imo! (PS: your holder need not be seasonal; any theme from wedding to birthday to all-occasion is fine!)

There are lots of dies and templates for making clever gift card holders with pop-ups, fun shapes and other cool interactive features. But sometimes we need something FAST and the ones I've made (basically just a small card with a built-in pocket) require only a 7.5 x 4.5" piece of double-sided patterned paper, a coordinating 7.25 x 1.5" strip, a scoring tool and a few embellishments. 

To make the folder, score your 7.5 x 4.5" paper at the 1.5" mark (of the long edge) and again at the 4.5" mark. 

Fold on both score lines and place a very thin line of dry adhesive (I've used 1/8" Scor-Tape) at the very edges of the 1.5" flap, to create the pocket. Of course you can move on to embellishing at this stage, and hold the little folder closed with ribbon, velcro, or a magnet closure. But I chose to make a little slide from a scrap of coordinating paper.

To make the slide-off band, score your 7.25 x 1.5" paper on the long side at the 1" point and again at the 4 + 1/8" point... yes... that makes the space inside your slide 1/*" larger than your gift card folder... which is why you can slide it on and off without tearing or getting stuck. 

Figure out where your overlap is going to be and add your adhesive there only. Slide it onto the folder and you are good to go!

Once you've got the folder and slide made, you can embellish it in any way you like. Though I suggest keeping whatever you add to the front of the folder quite flat, and making sure the decorations on the band are adhered securely. I stamped and colored four adorable Lawn Fawn Critters, stamped matching sentiments on four diecut Tiny Tags and accessorized with some diecut trees and snowflakes. 

I hope you'll be inspired to make your own version of this very easy and flexible gift card folder! Don't forget to join us on the Paper Anthology Facebook Page for challenges and other fun stuff all weekend long!