Simple Gift Card Holder

While browsing the Cricut message board today I saw a post in the Card forum by Debbie (taz11693) showing a very cute gift card holder she had made. She gave a link to a You Tube video by Dawn Griffin showing how to create this gift card holder. Dawn used a punch called a "word window" that I do not have. In watching her video it occurred to me - I could do a design studio file to create the cut for the card slot and so I set off to do it! Thanks to both Debbie and Dawn for the inspiration on this one!

The file creates a rectangle with a special cut out to create a place to insert the gift card. After cutting - the card stock should be scored at 3 inches, 5 1/2 inches and 8 inches.



To get the proper peaks and valleys you should score on the 3 and 8 inch marks and then flip and score on the 5 1/2 inch mark - take care as there are only very thin bits of card left to score at the 5 1/2 inch position.



Once the scores are made and you have smoothed the folds with your bone folder, apply adhesive to three sides of the center section as you can see in this photo (I used a tape runner - you should just be sure that your adhesive is strong!) If you want to stamp the card you may want to do it now while it is still flat and easier to work with.



Fold the center sections together carefully and adhere - you have created a pocket for the card



The file also cuts a band to wrap around the card and hold it shut. If you are doing a group of these in various colors you can mix and match the bands for contrast. The band should be scored at the 3 and 6 inch marks but to allow enough "give" for it to slide over the card you should shift the paper about 1/8 inch to the right before scoring on the 3 inch mark as shown here



Than slide it back to the edge and score on the 6 inch mark



Apply adhesive to the short end and fold over the long end



You could leave this totally plain....(it would be better looking if you used patterned paper)



or you could add an embellishment on the band



I stamped a little greeting on this one as you can see in the photo at the start of this post. There are many possibilities and as we get in to the season of Graduations some of these holders will be very handy.

To help you all I did a file in George and also one in Plantin Schoolbook. So, even if you don't have a "word window" punch, you can make this card holder too!

Gift Card Holder - George

Gift Card Holder - Plantin Schoolbook

Leann's CD envelopes

As I mentioned in my last post - I made the CD envelope because of a request from the Cricut Message Board. Leann ("luvmygirls" on the board) also saw the request and created some CD envelopes. Since she does not have a blog, she asked me to post these files in my blog for her to share with others. It is fun to see how different people approach a design and what shapes they use to create a file - there are many ways to reach a similar result.

Leann made a decorative center using a flower from Accent Essentials and made a trim ring on a second page to help the cutout really "pop." Her standard envelope requires Plantin Schoolbook and Accent Essentials.



Her mini CD envelope is made with George and Accent Essentials and holds a cookie very nicely!



Leann's CD Envelope

Leann's mini CD Envelope

CD envelopes

Someone asked about a CD sleeve on the Cricut message board. I was sure that others had designed and posted some of these but I couldn't find one right away to answer the posted question and so I decided to give it a try.

To make something like this it is easiest to find a ready made example, disassemble it and then figure out the measurements and shapes needed to create something close to the sample. The creativity and fun come in making adjustments to the "standard issue" item and choosing papers that will put a smile on your face!

I did these using the standard circle but you can take whatever shape you want, from any cartridge you own and personalize the window - just be sure that you DO NOT check "weld" when you add that design and be careful about centering the design in the front square of the sleeve.

I first did a design for the baby bug mat - here is a screen shot of the preview.



This design uses the full width of the paper and will require a bit of trimming at the edges where the paper extends beyond the "cuttable" area (see the photos below).





I cut mine on the Expression 12 inch mat and there is a slight difference in the two side flaps based on the paper placement.



Once this is removed from the mat the fold lines should be scored - a ScorPal makes this very easy but you can do it with the edge of a bone folder and a ruler as well.



The opening will require some clear, thin plastic for the window - I found a stack of florist cellophane for wrapping flowers that was left from a volunteer event and this worked perfectly - here is a photo (you may be able to get this at a floral supply store or just ask a local florist if you can buy a small amount).



This material cut easily in my Creative Memories straight trimmer - just start the blade in the middle of a cut and go in both directions to avoid snagging.



Once you have the small square of plastic you can adhere it to form the window - I used tape runner in the four corners and a line of CM Precision Point adhesive around the circle - let it sit until it turns clear and then carefully lay in your cellophane square.



Then add adhesive to the two side flaps and fold your sleeve together - the top flap can tuck inside or just fold over the top - you can use a sticker to close it if you like.

Next, I tried adapting the design for the larger mat by shifting all the elements down a bit to make sure that all the cutting would be done by the Cricut (no hand trimming at the edge). Here is a screen shot of the shifted design on the 12 x 12 mat.



When I first cut this I used a 6 x 12 piece of paper and placed it on the mat at the 1/2 inch mark from the top line - you can see the placement below



A six inch piece is a bit too narrow and the second flap was not as wide as designed since the paper did not cover that area.



Here is the offcut and you can see that the lower flap went beyond the paper I allowed.



So I tried a third time using a slightly wider piece of paper and this time the entire design was cut



Here is the third finished CD sleeve or envelope.



These are done using George - I have also designed a version using Plantin Schoolbook and will post that here. Another message board member did a cute design for a CD sleeve using Plantin Schoolbook as well. She did it in two sizes and with a flower cut out in the front. Since she does not have a blog she asked me to post her design and I will put that up here when she sends it to me.

There are so many possibilities to embellish and expand on this basic design - use your imagination!

CD sleeve on 6 x 12 mat - George

CD sleeve on 12 x 12 mat - George

CD sleeve on 12 x 12 mat - Plantin Schoolbook

Scalloped 4 x 6 Photo mats - a few options

I love photography and wanted to make some card using my flower photographs. I wanted these to be simple but to have something to set off the photos. Since I just figured out a quick and easy way to make scallops using hearts, I decided to design a scalloped mat that would perfectly fit a 4 x 6 photo and could then be mounted on a premade 5 x 7 card.



When the mat is cut you will also have a perfectly even border leftover - if you are a frugal person you can make two cards by using this border for another photo - it will give the effect of a mat. Here is the border cut offset so you can see the design



and here is the card with the border placed at the edge - you can see that it gives the same sort of effect and nothing goes to waste!



The scallops are pretty on their own but then I decided to "fancy them up" a bit by adding small holes (particularly since the "threading water" punch is so popular these days - see my post from March 29th on the scalloped punched border).

Here are a few photos of cards with the scalloped mat with punched holes









I decided that the mat added quite a bit of weight to the card front once you add a photo so I decided to try a version that has a cut out in the center to reduce the weight - it also gives more design options.

Here is a photo of this cut on the mat - notice that the cut starts one half inch in from the top and side of the mat - you can try to place a 5 x 7 piece of paper in precisely the right position or use a slightly larger piece of paper to be sure that the mat is exactly the right size after cutting.



Here you can see the cut on a card



Finally, this is a card front using the "mat" and "Thank You" cut with the Cricut.



There are endless variations with various color combinations - I'd love to see what you do with these! There are three files to choose from (or try them all).

Scalloped 4 x 6 photo mat

Scalloped 4 x 6 photo mat with holes

Scalloped 4 x 6 photo mat with holes and center opening

Small Frame of Hearts

The large frame of hearts I posted on April 14 was a very simple design but a useful one and so I decided to do a smaller version which could be cut on the baby bug. I hope that some of my regular readers may have already done this on their own but I know that there are many new bug owners and beginners with Design Studio who might appreciate having it done for them, ready to cut.



The offcuts once again are quite attractive and could be used on their own.



This smaller design can be used on a large page - it looks attractive turned on point as you can see below



You can even use the small heart cut outs in the corners of the page to pull it all together



One interesting thing I noticed is that the edges of these frames form a nice scalloped square - scallops seem to be very popular these days and if you don't have one of the cartridges with a scalloped square you can make your own by welding a square within the frame of hearts.



The scalloped square is on the second page of the file below. Once again, you can take this concept and adjust to make frames in the sizes you require for your projects. Have fun with this!

Small Frame of Hearts and Scalloped Square