Guest Post: How to Make a Gift Card Holder

Have you ever been just a bit disappointed when you receive a gift card as a present? This doesn’t mean you are greedy or ungrateful; it just means that, perhaps, you were hoping for a gift that was more personal. We all love to get presents – there’s no denying it! But what makes it so special is that someone thought of us. When we get a gift card, it can seem impersonal. It may not be; the giver may know that you’ve been eyeing a new pair of sneakers and wants to let you choose your own size. The giver may know you love to shop!


Whatever the case, there are good intentions behind the gift. But we can make our good intentions known more clearly when we create a homemade gift card holder. There will be no doubt that you were thinking of your recipient then!

Version One

You don’t have to be a craft expert to make wonderful gift card holders. You can even use some pre-made materials to get you started. Martha Stewart suggests buying inexpensive pre-cut tags. Get the kind with grommets on the end (which allows you to put a ribbon through, if you want).

Cut a piece of fabric or extra-wide ribbon so it measures 3.5 inches. Fold each cut end under by ¼ inch and glue securely. Sew (or use strong glue) the bottom and side edges to the tag to form a little pocket for the gift card. Voila! A beautiful, thoughtful card holder. You can do something very similar just using fabric or felt and making a little pouch.

Version Two

For this next one, use a piece of cardstock and trim it very carefully so it measures 6 5/8 inches x 4 ¼ inches. When you have trimmed it, fold one end in towards the center and flatten it. Fold the other end in to the middle and flatten it. Now you have a tri-folded little envelope.

Next, unfold it and lay it flat on your working surface. Decorate it with fun stamps or even with crayons and markers. (This way you can get children involved as well.) A nice touch is to sponge all of the edges with a complementing or contrasting color. Fold the card again to reinforce the lines and then get ready to glue or tape it together.

Double-sided tape works well for this, as does glue. Make sure that you leave enough room so the gift card fits in though. Put your glue or tape on the two sides of the middle third, and then fold up the bottom third and press it down firmly to achieve a strong adhesive bond. You are just about done. You now have a functional envelope for your gift card. You can tie a ribbon around the whole card or around the top flap and adorn the front of the card with a greeting or the name of your recipient.

There are endless videos and tutorials online available to help you make your own wonderful gift card holders. Take advantage of them! Watch craft experts as they effortlessly create these beautiful, personal holders – and then try your best to do the same. You can always add your own ideas and variations so you make a holder that best suits your recipient. It is the thought that counts.

Author Bio:

Sarah is a writer who enjoys doing crafts and giving creative gifts. She also contributes articles to the All About Gifts & Baskets blog, where you can find all kinds of discount gift baskets.

Slime {Craft Tutorial}

After I did Oobleck with the kids, they were screaming for more gooey projects... so I found a recipe for Slime and figured we would try that!  They loved it (though not as much as the oobleck), and played with it for at least an hour after we made it.

Ingredients Needed:

One larger bowl filled with 1 1/3 c. Warm Water (must be warm, but need not be hot)

2 TBSP Borax, added to same bowl of water, mixed well

In smaller bowl, 3/4 c. warm water (once again needs to be warm)

one Cup of Glue

Food Coloring

Mix the glue and food coloring into the smaller bowl.  Mix well!  Try not to get it on the table like me... :D

  

 Add the contents of the small bowl to the large bowl all at once.  Let sit for about 2 minutes to set up and then lift it out of the water.  It will feel really slimy, but as you pack it together it will gain a little more on the solid form.

We found that this slime snapped apart if you pulled on it, if you made a ball and left it on the table it would flatten out, and you could put two pieces together and they would slowly meld together.

It's not as fun as playdoh, you can't really make shapes out of it, but they had a lot of fun playing with the funky texture and just messing around with it.

We kept ours in ziploc bags and they will last for weeks!

Enjoy!

Potato Stamped Canvas Totes {Craft Tutorial}

So I saw several ideas for children's storage on Pinterest, which is my favorite place to look for craft ideas.  I saw this one I liked that was like a modular space that could hold those small canvas totes and separate toys.  I picked out 4 really plain white ones that were only $1.50 each.

I then dug through my cupboard, and found two potatoes that were getting soft and that I wouldn't use for baking.  I cut these in half and let my daughter draw on them with a pencil to pick out what shapes she wanted me to cut.  She picked a moon, a flower, a pawprint and a smiley face.

Be very careful when cutting these out, I actually gave myself a nasty cut in the process... :'(

I then painted the design with acrylic paint and we stamped them on the canvas totes:

We liked the way that the stamps looked after they had been painted too!

Overall, it was easy and simple, and it's going to make for great storage in the girls' room!  I'll add pictures of the setup after I get it all organized!


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