Sometimes I find a really pretty giftcard and it seems a shame to hide it away. So for today’s project I decided to let the giftcard be the centre of attention. With the help of some Window Sheet, it really can become the focal point of a card.

WINDOW AND FRAME

I started this project with a basic Whisper White Note Card & Envelope. My plan was simple, cut a window in the front of the card to allow the giftcard to show through.

After folding the note card along the pre-scored line I sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. This allowed me to clearly see the front of the card.

To cut out the window and frames I used the Stitched Rectangles Dies. Starting with the note card I cut out the centre of the front using the #C4 die (counting from the smallest up).

Then from some Night of Navy Card I cut two frames (one for the inside and one for the outside of the note card). To do this I first nested the #C4 die inside the #C5 die and cut some Night of Navy Card. Then I separated the dies and nested the #C4 die inside the #C6 die before cutting another piece of Night of Navy Card. This wider frame would be used on the inside of the note card.

Finally I cut a piece of Window Sheet using just the #C6 die.

WONDERFUL SENTIMENT

With the frame cut I then turned my attention to the sentiment. I wanted to hide the store name that was printed in the top left corner of the gift card and this was a simple solution.

I chose “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” from the Wrapped in Christmas Stamp Set. First I stamped it using Night of Navy ink onto the piece I’d cut from the front of the Whisper White note card. Next, going back to the Stitched Rectangles Dies, I cut out the sentiment using the #B2 die. Then using the #B3 die I cut a mat from one of the leftover pieces of Night of Navy Card.

Finally I mounted the sentiment onto the Night of Navy layer using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow).

Now I was ready to put everything together.

GIFT CARD SURPRISE

First I opened the notecard and fixed the Window Sheet behind the hole using Tear & Tape Adhesive. Then with more Tear & Tape I attached the wide frame onto it to keep things neat. With that done I placed the gift card face down in the centre of the window and put a Mini Glue Dot in each corner of the gift card. Then I closed the back of the note card onto the gift card and pressed down. Now when I opened the card the gift card was held in place on the inside back of the card.

That just left me the front of the card to do starting with the narrow Night of Navy frame. I began by using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to attach the narrow frame to the front of the note card.

Then I glued the stamped sentiment to the Night of Navy mat. The die cut pieces were quite long so before going any further I trimmed off the left edge a little. Then using Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals along the left and top edges I attached the assembled sentiment to the card.

As I was thinking about the envelope I realised that the gift card I had chosen reminded me of an image in the Rustic Retreat Stamp Set. So I pulled out the house image and stamped it onto the front of the envelope with Night of Navy ink.

And there you have it, when closed the pretty gift card provides the focal image for the project. Then when opened the store name is visible and the gift is revealed. What do you think?

PRODUCT LIST

ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA EXTENDED – Due to some technical difficulties with the online store yesterday Stampin’ Up! have decided to extend the Online Extravaganza promotion int a second day. So if you missed the chance to buy almost everything in the Annual Catalogue at 10% off, today’s your chance. Of the products used today, only the Wrapped in Christmas Stamp Set, Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Mini Glue Dots and Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine are NOT included in today’s promotion.