We’re coming to the end of our granddaughter’s stay with us and ticking off the last few things on her bucket list. Many involved food and shopping which was fine with me, lol. We’ve also been exploring Nova Scotia’s flora and fauna. There was no big zoo trip this time but instead we enjoyed discovering creatures in the wild. Today our plan is to print off some of the photos ready for some crafty time. Meanwhile, here’s an animal-themed birthday giftcard envelope complete with a More Dazzle belly band.

SIMPLE ENVELOPE DESIGN

I began by making the basic envelope from a 4″ x 6″ piece of Basic Black Card. With the long side at the top I scored the card at 2″ and 4-1/4″. Then with the short side at the top I scored it at 1/4″ and 3-3/4″. With that done I folded the card along the scored lines and sharpened the creases with a Bone Folder.

Next I needed to trim a little off the sides as shown by the grey sections in this diagram…

I could have left it at that but decided to add some detail to the front flap using the Very Best Trio Punch. I placed one corner of the flap under the decorative corner option and punched. Then to ensure that the corners matched I had to flip the card over before punching the second corner. If you’re unsure, practice on some scrap card first.

Finally I put a little Tear & Tape Adhesive down the sides of the non-punched end. Then with the tabs tucked in I folded over the non-punched end to create the pocket.

RAZZLE DAZZLE

Obvioiusly with a black envelope I really needed to create some wow with the decoration. I also I didn’t want the method of closing the gift card holder be too complicated. So that’s why I decided to create a slide-on ‘belly band’ using the stunning More Dazzle Specialty Paper.

Before I got to that I first cut a 2″ x 5″ piece of Vellum Cardsock and wrapped it around the envelope. It needed to be just loose enough to slide on and off easily, but not too loose. Once I was happy I used Tear & Tape Adhesive to attach the Vellum to itself.

Next I cut a 1-3/4″ x 5″ piece of Champagne More Dazzle Specialty Paper. Then I wrapped it around the envelope on top of the Vellum layer, fixing the two together with Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow).

For the “happy birthday to you” sentiment I turned to the Zany Zoo Stamp Set. Using Tuxedo Black ink I stamped it onto a 3/4″ x 2″ strip of Thick Basic White Card. Then I shaped the right-hand end using the scallop option on the Happy Labels Pick-A-Punch. With that done I fixed the sentiment to the More Dazzle layer using a couple of Stampin’ Dimensionals.

To finish I decided to use the cheetah ballerina image from the Zany Zoo Stamp Set. But then I remembered this image was also on the Zoo Crew 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper (DSP). So instead of stamping and colouring I simply cut out the image from the DSP using the coordinating die from the Zoo Crew Dies set. Then with a few more Stampin’ Dimensionals I attached the ballerina to the belly band and my project was complete.

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Zany Zoo Stamp Set and coordinating Zany Zoo Dies in a bundle. Using the single ‘bundle’ item number to get these two items meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying them separately. I’ve included links for both options in case you want to explore these further.