I just love to find new ways to give gift cards! To me, gift cards are so practical in the sense that the recipient can choose whatever they want…and you can not go wrong with a gift card from Amazon!

Do you remember this adorable owl from the graduation card that I made the other week? Please click here to see that post so you can see how to make this dear little guy! I have said this before…when you find something that works…why re-invent the wheel?

If you loved it the 1^st time…than chances are you’ll love it again!

I totally realize that if you start buying punches from Stampin' Up! – you can quickly add up a "tab" quickly…but hands down, we have the best punches on the market and they are always guaranteed…just like all of our products!

The best advice I can give to you with the punches is whenever you can…keep adding to your collection. They are so helpful and you will be amazed at how often you use them. Rome wasn’t built in a day…and probably your punches are the same…little by little you will have a great collection!

My inspiration came from watching a video that Dawn Griffin did. Click here if you wish to view it but if you do…you will see the changes that I made and I am also going to share with you some other ideas in ways I would switch it up even more than I did today!

• The base piece is a 4 ¼” X 11” piece of crumb cake…(woot-woot – You’ll be able to get 2 gift cardholders from 1 sheet of paper!

• With the 4 ¼” base across the top of your Simply Scoring Board, score all the way down at 3”

• Turn the paper and now you will have the 11” across the top and score at 3” and at 7”

• Cut up to the 7” mark and keep this piece, as it will be your bellyband! (You can do this…just look at the picture below)

• Give all of your score lines a good crease with the bone folder! (I know that many of you like to skip this but I think that this makes the BEST creased and professional edges)

• Using the new Maritime Designer Series Paper, I cut a 3” piece and it allowed be to do all of the decorative cuts…ready for the dimensions – (2) 2 ¾’ squares and (1) 1” X 3 ¾” (for the gift card part) and the rest…. to line the outer flap of your envelope!

TIP ALERT: You have heard me countless times about how much I adore the Designer Series Paper Stacks as well as the DSP…each piece is a 12” X 12” piece of paper and if you were to cut it into 3” strips…you could line 8 envelopes from one sheet!

• Using the “green glue” and remember…just a very, very thin bead of glue…I sealed the sides of where the gift card will go and also used this to adhere the DPS squares and the white piece.

• Oops…the white piece is a scrap piece measuring 3 ¾” X 2 ¾” and then I stamped the “bravo” sentiment from the A Dozen Thoughts Stamp Set (If you do not have this set…it is simple – you need it!)

• I “jazzed” up the belly-band with more paper, but you could totally skip this! These were just scraps that measured ½” X 9” and ¼” X 9”. The easiest way to find the appropriate place to score/bone fold…is to just wrap it around the project (make sure it is NOT TOO tight) as you need some “wiggle’ room to slide it on and off!

At this point you could be done as you really do not need an envelope but you know that I love to make my own envelopes! Using the Envelope Punch Board, I made an envelope that was probably too big, but I would rather it be too big than too small. The finished envelope size is 4” X 3”.

As I said at the top of the post I would share with you some ideas/thoughts about this project! First, I really like the ability to write a message to the person I am giving it to…having that piece of white on the inside works like a charm!

I also like the bellyband sliding off this way! I think that it is more supportive and I just like the way it looks! (Also, I like seeing the “peak” of crumb cake on the right hand side…gives an element of interest rather than having so much DPS!)

Remember to click here to see the post that I did in how to make this adorable Owl. There are sooo many adorable stamps you could use in place of the owl…let your imagination go wild and have fun!

Any of the big flowers would be great…a star…you could stamp the dog from the new stamp set,Hot Diggity Dog and then use a framelit to cut it out and it would be an adorable way to pay a dog sitter with a gift card of a check! (That is what I am going to do the next time we go away)

The best tip I can give you is not to take things to literally…when you see something that interests you…look at it…watch a video if available…and then make it work for you…just like I did here!

If you read my comments…you know that Chris R. leaves me a comment just about everyday! While I have been gone, she sent me an intriguing idea on making a “scratch pad” using our products…at 1^st I thought it would be too fussy for me to make, but I have watched the video twice and thought – I’m going to give it a try!

Back to what I posted yesterday –  there is no such thing as perfection…

Just do it… as what ever you do is a reflection of who you are!

Thanks for popping in today and I hope that I was able to inspire you. I adore making projects like this and wowzers – This also would be super cute for the holidays with a holiday stamp/framelit!

Remember, every order that is place through my website until this Sunday, June 8^th will get a double-whammy…you will receive a free NEW color of Bakers Twine PLUS an opportunity to be the hostess for all of my sales this week!

All you need to do is put the hostess code of and you will have the opportunity to earn all of the hostess earnings. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions about this Hostess Code! Tomorrow is a fun color challenge with the Pals Paper Art! I think it will make you smile!

It feels great to be back and I am super excited for my order to arrive on Thursday!

Until tomorrow!

Maritime Designer Series Paper

$10.95

Envelope Punch Board

$19.95

Liquid Multipurpose Glue

$3.95

Bone Folder

$6.95

Simply Scored

$29.95

Stampin' Trimmer

$29.95

A Dozen Thoughts Clear Stamp Set

$18.95

 

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