Saturday, November 27, 2010

Quick Gift Enclosure Cards

by Kathy Berger


Quick Gift Enclosure Cards

These are quick to make, and a lot of fun, too. You'll get six 2 3/4" x 2 3/4" square cards from a single sheet of card-stock. I love to make a few dozen of these at one time, and then get my friends and family to join me to decorate them. I provide an assortment of embelishments, some scrap papers, and some snacks. We spend the day creating and I let them keep the ones they decorate. It is really a great way to spend some time together, creating.

A set of these little gift enclosure cards would make a great little gift, too, for a teacher, or as a little hostess gift for a holiday open house...

Materials

  • Paper and Cardstock
    • 1 sheet of standard white card-stock
    • scraps of red and dark green card stock (optional)
  • Stamps
    • Small stamps of your choice (I prefer clear so I can see where I am stamping them)
  • Inks and Embossing Powders
  • Embellishments
  • Tools
  • Adhesives
    • If embellishing the cards, Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue     ( ALE-glue-quick   $3.99)

Instructions

  • Start with a single sheet of 8 1/2” x 11” card-stock.
    Cut 1/4” inch off the width, leaving a sheet 8 1/4” x 11”.



  • In landscape orientation, line the card-stock up at the 1/4" mark on the Scor=Pal, and score at the 3" and 8 1/2" grooves.
    This will give score lines at 2 3/4" from each end of the card-stock.



  • Mask the top and bottom of the card-stock to the score lines.
    Place the card-stock on scrap paper.



  • Using red and green inks, randomly stamp images between the masks, being sure to stamp off the edges onto the scrap paper and onto the masks.
    Be random; make sure the images are stamped right side up, upside down, sideways.
    Try not to make an obvious pattern with the images.



  • When you’re done stamping, remove the masks.


  • In landscape orientation, cut the sheet at 5 1/2", making two 8 1/4” x 5 1/2” pieces.



  • Next, in landscape orientation, cut each of the two pieces in thirds, at 2 3/4" and 5 1/2", making a total of six pieces, 2 3/4” x
 5 1/2” each.



  • Each of the six pieces will be scored at 2 3/4". Fold and crease each of the pieces on the score lines.



  • Optionally, stamp a sentiment on the inside.
    The cards can be used just as they are with the fold at the top or the side. Alternately, they can be embellished with layers of card stock, ribbons, buttons, or bows.



    Here are some more samples, stamped with different stamps and decorated with various embellishments:

         

For fun variations, use a rainbow pad to stamp the images, or sponge or brayer color into the center area. These make great gift enclosures, or can be used as a tag. Think of all the variations you can make: birthdays, Valentine's Day, for teachers, for friends; the possibilities are nearly endless!

Check out this template to make square envelopes for your cards. Just enlarge or shrink for a variety of sizes. For this project, make sure the dotted square in the middle of the template is 3" x 3 " and the envelopes you make will hold these gift eclosure cards perfectly!



Have fun!

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