Gift Card Holder

Supplies:

– 1 piece of 4″ x 8.5″ cardstock (the “inside” piece)

– 1 piece of 4.5″ x 6″ cardstock (the “outside” piece)

-Score Pal or similar scoring tool

– Word Window Punch

– 1/4″ Sticky tape

– Adhesive

– Additional cardstock, paper, stamps, embellishments as desired

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Step 1:

Score the 4″ x 8.5″ piece of cardstock along the longest side at 2.75″, 4.25″ and 5.75″

Score the 4.5″ x 6″ piece of cardstock along the longest side at 3″ (halfway).

Step 2:

Fold the 4″ x 8.5″ (inside) piece of cardstock in half at the 4.25″ score line. Then, fold upwards at the other two score lines. You should end up with a “W” shaped piece of cardstock (as pictured).

Fold the 4.5″ x 6″ (outside) piece of cardstock in half.

 

Step 3:

Use the Word Window (or similar) punch to create an opening in the halfway fold of the “W” shaped cardstock, about 0.25″ away from each end. You don’t have to create an opening the fill width of the punch (as you can see in the picture). Just enough to create an opening for the card. Make sure the card will fit the length of the opening.

Tip: I usually punch one end first, then the other end. Then I level out the middle and distance form the edge, if needed, to make sure my opening is centered. Also, I have trouble lining up the two punch marks evenly, so I tend to “fix” any bumps with my craft knife.

Step 4:

Turn your cardstock upside down so you’ve got an upside down “W”. Place sticky strip on one side of the inside of the “W” (where you punched your opening), along either side of the card (see picture).

Stick the two sides of the inner fold of the “W” together. Test one more time to make sure you can slide the card into the holder.

Step 4:

Note: I like to test fit this next step before putting adhesive on, just to make sure my inside piece will fit properly once it’s all taped up.

Put adhesive on the back of the inside piece.

Next, you’re going to attach the inside piece to the outside piece. I find it easiest to do this by “squashing” the sides together and centering the fold on the outside piece. Once I have it placed where I want it, I squash the outside piece down to make sure everything sticks.

Step 5: (Optional)

Given the thickness of the gift card holder, I found it had a tendency to pop open. I chose to make a belly band for my holder, but you might think of another option (i.e. ribbon fastened on the backside and wrapped around the front to tie it closed).

To make a belly band, cut a piece of 1″ x10″ cardstock. Place it across the top of the gift card holder, with an equal amount of the belly band hanging off either side. Loosely wrap one side around the back of the holder; then the other side.

If you wrap it too tight, you’ll have trouble sliding the belly band on and off.

Step 6:

You’re pretty much done at this point. Decorate the inside and outside as you wish.

Tip: If you’re applying a “shape” to the front of the belly band, like I did in this gift card holder, apply the adhesive to the band, not the shape. Otherwise, you may get “extra” adhesive and the shape might stick to the front of the holder.

Custom Sizes:

This gift card holder can easily be modified to whatever size you want. For example, some gift cards I used had a “cardboard” backing that I wanted included. If you have a custom or odd size, you can do the following to adjust the instructions.

–  Measurement A: Measure the length of the card you want to insert in the holder. Add a 1/2″ to this measurement.

– Measurement B: Measure the height of your gift card. Add a 1/2″ to this measurement.

– Measurement C: Now, measure approximately half the height of your gift card to determine the size of the pocket.

– Sketch yourself a quick template for the dimensions. In my illustration, you can see that the inside piece (the ‘W’) is composed of four sections. Measurement A will be your width of the finished inside.The two outside scores will be equal to Measurement B and Measurement C will form the pocket piece.

– My example gift card (a standard sized card) was 3.5″ (Measurement A) x 2.25″ (Measurement B). Half was about 1.25″, but I gave a bit extra and made it 1.5″ (Measurement C).

3.5″ + 0.5″ = 4″ = width of cardstock piece

2.25″ + 0.5″ = 2.75″ plus 1.5″ = 4.25″. This is only half the inside of the holder, so double that for a total of 8.5″ in length.

Here is the same “template” with the new sizes noted:

– The outside piece needs to encompass the inside piece. Therefore, for this piece I added an inch to Measurement A (3.5″ + 1″ = 4.5″) and a third of an inch to Measurement B (2.25″ + 0.75″ = 3″) to get the final size of my gift card holder. Again, double Measurement B (3″ x 2 = 6″) when you’re cutting your cardstock because you’ll fold that piece in half.

– The belly band will need to be adjusted for larger cards as well, but this should be pretty easy to figure out!

Hope that tutorial helped! If you run into problems, send me a comment. Or, if you want help determining the perfect size for your gift card, let me know and I’ll be happy to assist.