Autumn “Gift” Cards

Do you ever need a small gift at the last moment? For a lunch favor? For an “under-the-weather” friend? For a quick thank you? This is one simple project that you can make up and have on hand when you need to have that special little something to give as a token of friendship and thoughtfulness. Keep in mind that you can make this project in any size to accommodate your little gift and the measurements I am giving below are for the surprises I wanted to include in my cards. I have made three of them for this posting so that you can see that they can be made as clean and simple or as decorative as you wish. After you make your first one, you will see how easy it is to change the pocket sizes inside the cards to fit your gift/s and you will be able to configure the inside of the card to fit your needs.

The major thing that you need to keep in mind is the thickness of the little gift/s you want to include inside the card since you will need to make the spine of the card and the pocket/s inside using the same measurements. For my sample cards I have decided to include some sweets in two of them and an “under-the-weather” kit in the other one. The little gifts gifts measure 1″ in thickness–my magic number!

I started with a 6 1/2″ X 11 piece of Basis Brown 80LB Cardstock which will be the base of the card. To make the spine of the card, this piece of cardstock is scored on the long side at 5″ and 6″, using a bone folder to make the score lines sharp and crisp, providing the 1″ spine.

My preference is for a very stable and rigid card so I selected 3 different coordinating cardstocks to layer for each of the four panels. I measured the four panels of the card and cut the following layers:

The gold layers were embossed using a Darice Fall Leaf Background folder before adhering all layers of the panels together with Tombow Mono Multi-Purpose Liquid Glue.

I then cut 2 – Basis Dark Orange 80LB Cardstock for the inside and outside spines at 6 1/4″ X 3/4″.

Adhere two of the panels to the inside of the card.

This next step is very important and one that I have forgotten way too many times!! Be sure to adhere the closing ribbons to the front of the card before the other panels are added.

Then adhere the remaining two panels over the ribbon and your card is ready for the addition of the pockets to hold the little gifts.

In order to make the pocket to hold the chocolate bars, I measure around them to determine what length to cut the cardstock, keeping in mind that I also want at least a 1″ overlap. I also want the pocket to be deep enough to hold the candy bars (3 1/4″) and adding a 1″ for the closed bottom.

In other words, I cut a 10 1/2″ X 4 1/4″ piece of Basis Brown 80LB Cardstock, scoring lengthwise at 1″. The width of the chocolates is 3 5/8…so I scored the cardstock at 2″,3″,6 5/8″, 7 5/8″, using a bone folder to make the fold lines sharp. Clip the bottom of the pocket at each of the score lines to the 1″ score line.

Using the chocolate bars as a form I wrap the cardstock around and adhere. Then fold the small tabs in and overlap the bottom and adhere as well.

Finally, I used a double-sided tape to adhere the pocket to the inside of the card.

Now the fun begins!!! At this point you can decorate your card as simply or as decorative as you wish. As I said, I have made 3 cards and will show them to you below, both the outside and the inside, from the simplest to the most decorative…so here goes…..

For the cleanest and simplest card, to present a couple of Ritter chocolate bars, I merely added a computer generated sentiment and a simple jotting spot inside:

For the get-well-soon card, I made a couple of paper rosettes, punched several leaves, and used computer generated sentiments. You will notice that the inside of this card is different…I even used a belly band for the tissues. This card contains peppermint tea bags, some honey packs, and a pack of tissue:

For the most decorative card, I used a sweet image from Art By Mi Ran, a satin bow, flowers, a sentiment from Whimsy Stamps, and more punched leaves. The image was stamped on Curious Metallic Cryogen White 89LB Cardstock and colored with Copics and Promarkers. This card holds two Godiva chocolate pearls canisters:

All finished!! Just tie your card together and deliver to make someone very happy!!!!

Thank you so very much for coming by today and I look forward to seeing you again real soon! If you have any questions about my instructions, please leave the question in a comment or send me an email and I will get back to you right away. I hope you try this little project and I would love to see your lovely creations. Until the next time I send BIG HUGS….Jacque 

CutCardStock products used in this project: