Christmas Gift Cards BY AMANDA KING

Hello Mad Scrappers! Amanda here with a quick and easy idea to jazz up any gift cards that you are giving this Christmas. To me, gift cards seem like an easy option and don’t require the care and thought that goes into a ‘proper’ present, even though they are what my niece and nephews prefer. I like to provide a bit of time, love and care by making special gift card holders for them rather than using the shops’ standard cards, and I’m here to show you how.

Start by cutting a 12.5cm x 30.5cm (5” x 12”) strip of cardstock-weight patterned paper. I’m using Carta Bella’s Hello Christmas papers which are quite thick and slightly textured. Choose a paper with patterns on both sides that don’t have a strong direction to them as some will end up upside-down. I picked Poinsettia Floral which has a subtle red print on one side and a bold dark floral on the other. I prefer to use a border punch or a corner punch on one end, but that’s optional.

Starting from the unpunched end, with the pattern you want to cover the outside of your card uppermost, score lines at 8cm, 11cm, 14cm and 22.5cm (3”, 4.25”, 5.5” and 9”). Fold the first third and fourth lines down and the second line up.

Turn the card over and cut a slit along the second line that is a little longer than the gift card you are sending.

Then turn it back over, add a line of glue or double-sided tape to the outside edge of one of the short sections, furthest away from the slit you cut, and stick the two sides together. Take care not to cover the whole panel with adhesive as your gift card needs to slot back in between the two layers.

It should now look like this on the inside:

Add your message to the inside, fold up the card and then decorate the front as you wish. I know that these will end up in the bin so I kept it simple with just a panel of the Merry Christmas paper with all its festive icons. The last step is a length of ribbon or twine to hold your card closed.

If you don’t want to use your precious patterned paper or it’s too thin, you could make a similar card from plain cardstock instead and then cover some of the panels individually, and 6x6 papers are perfect for that version. I hope you give it a try and end up with a gift as unique as you are.

See you soon when I will share a project from Vicki Boutin’s Storyteller collection.

Until then, Merry Christmas from all of us at The Mad Scrapper.