Gift Card Holders!

I've been busy making gift card holders for the Jingle Bell Boutique!

I'm a little short on time and sleep (and I'm covered in glitter) so I'll just post a link to each gift card holder's info in case you'd like to create it yourself.
 If you'd like to know exactly what supplies I used then, well, you'll just have to come to the Boutique and see for yourself...or ask.

http://pattystamps.typepad.com/pattys_stamping_spot/2007/11/christmas-gift-.html

http://stampinat.blogspot.com/2009/10/8-tree-trimmings.html

http://andreawalford.com/whatever-wednesday-gift-card-holder-tutorial

And for even more fun with gift cards, you can browse though some of my older gift card posts!

Would you like one of these?

That's right. A Stampin' Up! Gift Card just for you!

(Or for somebody else, if you're in a giving mood)

They can be made in any amount, and you can redeem them with me whenever you'd like. Just leave a comment or email me and I'll get you all set up.

Thanks!

#2 - Berry Christmas

We're almost there, only one more Christmas stamp set to feature in the top 10 countdown. Are you so excited? I know I am, because that means I can start making cards that I might actually send to someone. I know. Pretty amazing idea huh?


I was feeling so lame about the last post only having one project that tonight I was determined to make up for it.
This first project was inspired by Lisa Mekeel at http://creativecucina.com/?p=1125

I'm a sucker for window cards! Here's the inside:

I used:

*Real Red, Whisper White and Old Olive

*Christmas Cocoa d.s.p., 1 3/4" circle punch

This next card was SOOOO fun to make. I've been loving the holly pattern paper all season and I finally found a perfect use for it. I mimicked the paper pattern for the red-on-red background as well as the punched out image. So fun and so easy!

I used:

*Soft Suede, Real Red and Whisper White

* Christmas Cocoa d.s.p., soft suede polka dot ribbon and the 1 3/4" punch

Inspiration for the next card came from Amanda Mertz's fantastic blog:

http://didyoustamptoday.blogspot.com/2009/08/sunflowers-using-new-christmas-set.html

I loved how she used punches for the poinsettia image so I just had to copy it.

Do you see the little birdie? So cute right?

I used:

*Real Red, Garden Green and Whisper White

*1 3/8" circle punch, scallop square punch

As you can probably tell, I copied A LOT for this post, so here is Tessa Wise's blog where I got the next card idea.

You really should check out this card because it is soooo much better than mine. Seriously, check it out.
http://craftygrl.blogspot.com/2009/09/make-merry-card.html

I used:

*Always Artichoke, Pretty in Pink, Real Red and Whisper White

*Photo corner punch, Real Red polka dot ribbon and Crystal Effects

The inspiration for this next project did not come from a blog. It came from Lowe's. Strange, I know. So here is the outside and inside of their cute gift card holder thingy.

Pretty simple, yet alarmingly cute. So, of course I made one myself.

Cuter right? Well, I think so at least.

If you'd like to make one of these yourself (because I know you have gift cards to give to people) here are the directions:

*cut card stock to 3 3/4" x 5 7/8"

*score at 2 3/4"

*decorate

I used:

* Real Red, Soft Suede and Whisper White

* Christmas Cocoa d.s.p and Mistletoe ribbon

* Corner Rounder punch and Slit punch

Christmas Countdown #6 - Yuletide Christmas

I've been really excited about this post for a while now because I get to show two things that I am totally in love with. The first is this awesome gift card holder. I would go through the step by step but it's already been done in this lovely tutorial I stumbled across.
http://destampincorner.blogspot.com/2009/09/top-note-gift-card-holder-tutorial.html

You may notice that I used a different stamps set to decorate.

I used:

* Yuletide Christmas stamp set

* Real Red, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla card stock

* Chocolate Chip ink, Chocolate Chip, Real Red and Old Olive markers

* Top Note Bigz Die

* Wide oval punch, scallop oval punch, antique brass jumbo eyelet, Chocolate Chip 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, stamping sponges

And the next thing I LOVE is this fun technique I found at splitcoaststampers called Retiform. I don't know what that word means, but if you'd like to see a tutorial, click here:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/retiform_grid_technique/

As you can see, I followed the tutorial pretty closely (I never used the second color) for the card on the left and then for the other card and the bookmark I just went nuts. It was soooo fun!

I used:

*Yuletide Christmas, Snow Swirled and Many Merry Messages (to add variety to the images) stamp sets

* Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Real Red card stock and Christmas Cocoa d.s.p

* Soft Suede ink, soft suede, Real Red and Old Olive Markers

* Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain, Linen Thread, Soft Suede 1/2" polka dot Grosgrain Ribbon

* Wide oval punch, scallop oval punch, Jumbo eyelets, stamping sponges

Isn't it fantastic? After I made this card I got to thinking, "hmmm, this is totally flat. I bet it would make a lovely bookmark," so...

Ta Da! Bookmark. Too bad I don't have any time to read anymore because I'm always stamping. Someday I'll use this bookmark. I know it!

These next two cards are pretty fun to make. I measured a piece of very vanilla, stamped the stocking/nutcracker on it, colored it in using blender pens and chalk (Stampin' Pastels) and then wadded it up as much as possible. Once it was sufficiently beat up I chalked the edges with some brown and then slapped the card together. I tried making two versions of the same idea so you can see how versatile this idea is, but as it turns out, I sort of hate one of these, but I'm not telling which one.

I used:

* Yuletide Christmas

* Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Very Vanilla card stock, Christmas Cocoa d.s.p.

* Chocolate Chip ink

* Blender pen, Stampin' Pastels, Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain ribbon, brads

And here is the 5 minute card that I made with this set. So quick and easy! No coloring, cutting, sponging, measuring...etc. Just stamp it, punch it and stick it together. (Ok, I did use markers on the greeting and I inked around the edges of the Vanilla and Olive card stock rectangles, but still, super easy.) Josh hates it, but I think the Nutcrackers are charming. I can just imagine them on the back of my Mother's piano staring out at all the gifts under the tree.

I used:

* Yuletide Christmas stamp set

* Real Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla card stock

* Chocolate Chip ink

* Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, and Real Red markers

* Wide oval punch, scallop oval punch, Sleigh Bells ribbon

#8 - Tree Trimmings

Here they are, all the cards I made with the Tree Trimmings stamp set. I had originally not even planned on buying this set but then threw it in at the last minute because its only cost $14.95. Now that I've used it I LOVE it! Its so fun and pretty and makes whatever type of card I'm in the mood for.

For this card I used:

*Tree Trimmings and Berry Christmas stamp sets

*Garden Green, Real Red, Very Vanilla and Chocolate Chip

*Merry Moments designer series paper, Real Red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon

tip - to get the string and the ornament and the greeting to line up where you want them, use the Stamp-a-ma-jig. I just bought it and it has really added a lot to my stamping.

I got inspiration for this card at www.forloveofpaper.com

I used:

*Tree Trimmings and Snow Swirled stamp sets

*Soft Suede, Real Red and Whisper White

*Christmas Cocoa specialty designer series paper, Ticket corner punch

This is my favorite! Growing up I was taught that Christmas colors are red and green. Period. So I felt a little guilty using pink but it looked so much like a peppermint that I couldn't resist. Sorry Mom.

I used:

*Tree Trimmings and Many Merry Messages stamp sets

*Pretty in Pink, Real Red and Whisper White

*Real Red 3/4" Polk dot ribbon, Rhinestone brads

Tip - This card is 4 1/4" x 4 1/4". Which means it is just smaller than a regular A2 card and still fits in a regular envelope. I LOVE this size card! Whenever I make square cards they're almost always this size.

This card was hard for me because it's not my normal style but I think it turned out ok anyway.

I used:

*Tree trimmings and Many Merry Messages stamp sets

*Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery and Whisper White

*Silver brads, Ticket Corner punch, and white satin 5/8" ribbon

This is a gift card holder. I got the idea from the October issue of Stampin' Success.

*The brown piece is cut to 4" x 7 7/8" and then scored at 2 3/8" and 5 1/8"
* White piece is 2 1/2" x 7 1/4" and scored at 2 1/2" and 5 1/4" ( or a little bigger) to be the belly band that slips onto the gift card holder.

* I added a strip of scalloped red to the white piece and then embellished with Real Red , Old Olive and Chocolate Chip.

And here's a picture of the inside. I stamped a quick 'To: From:" and a gift card. Actually, I didn't have a gift card so I put in my rarely used Hollywood Video card. You get the idea.

And finally, here's a picture of the actual stamp set. Did I mention it's only $14.95? Love it.