Yesterday I received a small order from Stampin’ Up! It contained the last of the Online Extravaganza products ordered by my customers and an extra surprise. I thought I was ordering the Ornate Frames Dies but I didn’t realise the set included Santa’s belt buckle too!

CLASSIC SANTA COLOURS

I began my project by making the basic gift card holder using Real Red Card. Then I added a thumb notch at the open end using the 1/2″ Circle Punch.

You can see the process for creating the basic gift card holder in the video below. In this video I cut down a notecard to 3″ x 7-1/2″ but you can use any piece of card that size.

To make things easier for you I also created a diagram showing all the cutting and scoring measurements.

Once I had my Real Red gift card holder made, all I needed to do was add Santa’s belt.

SANTA’S BELT EXPLAINED

First I cut a 3/4″ x 5-1/2″ piece of Basic Black Card. Then I folded it around the gift card holder so the two ends met at the back roughly in the centre. But I wasn’t ready to fix it in place just yet.

Next I stamped the ‘believe’ sentiment from the Itty Bitty Christmas Stamp Set onto some Shimmery White Card using Tuxedo Black ink. Then from my new Ornate Frames Dies I took the small label die and cut out the sentiment. This die is great because it also added a small hole at the top so I could thread it onto some Whisper White Bakers’ Twine.

Turning Santa’s belt over I attached the loose ends of the Baker’s Twine to the back with a little Tear & Tape Adhesive. Then with more Tear & Tape I fixed the the belt around the gift card holder.

ONE FANCY GOLD BUCKLE

That just left the belt buckle to do.

First I found a scrap of Gold Foil Sheet roughly 1-1/4″ x 1-1/4″. Then I covered the back of the foil with pieces of Tear and Tape Adhesive. Next I cut out the foil using the squarish die in the Ornate Frames Dies. With that done I removed the backing from the Tear & Tape Adhesive and attached the buckle to finish Santa’s belt off in style.

Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I waited so long to get these dies! They are gorgeous and I’m so pleased that they’re not retiring just yet. Right now you can buy them by themselves as I did, or as part of a bundle with the coordinating Spooktacular Bash Stamp Set. If you buy the bundle you’ll save 10% off the cost of getting the stamp set and dies separately. However unlike the dies, that stamp set is retiring and only available while stocks last.

But I here’s some advance information, there is a new stamp set designed to coordinate with the Ornate Frames Dies coming out on January 3rd. More about that later.

For now though, I think I need to go and play with these dies some more.

PRODUCT LIST

UPDATE 2021 – Sadly the following products have retired and are no longer available from Stampin’ Up!

• Itty Bitty Christmas Stamp Set
• Whisper White Solid Baker’s Twine (white twine is included in the new Baker’s Twine Essentials Pack)
• 1/2″ Circle Punch