the hybrid chick

Welcome!

I often like to give our teachers gift cards, so they can choose something for themselves. But, I also like to come up with new ways to package the gift cards. Since I usually like to also include a card, I came up with a way to have both in one!

Today I’ll show you how I made a card using a pocket that fits Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs’ Seed Packet , using the perfect back to school designs in the ABCs and 123s by Nicole of Sugarplum Paperie.

Supplies:

• Seed Packet Template by Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs
• ABCs and 123s by Nicole of Sugarplum Paperie
• Epson Premium Presentation Paper
• 2 sheets of cardstock
• Scor-Tape
• Sewing machine
• buttons
• Circle and scalloped circle cutter
• Detail scissors
• Distress ink and sponge
• Ribbon
• Foam tape
• Adhesive

My first step was to open the digital kit and template in Photoshop Elements. I then added a digital paper to the seed packet template and printed it out. Next, I created a new document and chose some more papers to use on my card front as well as the label with “thank you, teacher” and the digital apple element. I then printed that sheet and moved to cutting everything.

The seed packet is super easy to put together, just cut, score and adhere! I decided to not adhere the top flap for easy opening and tied the whole thing with some bakers twine and a button. I love that the seed packet is big enough to fit the whole gift card: not just the gift card itself but the packaging it came with where I wrote the “to” and “from” and the amount.

Once I had the seed packet ready, I knew how large my card had to be. I decided to make a card with a thicker “spine” to allow for the bulkiness of the seed packet. The length of the card is 11″, so no cutting needed on that side, and it measures 6″ tall, so I cut off 2.5″ of my cardstock. I then scored at 5 1/4″ and 5 3/4″ inches.

I created a pocket (green cardstock) to enclose the seed packet by cutting a piece of cardstock 5 3/4″ inches by 4″ inches. That piece was scored at 1/4″ and 5 1/2″ on the long side and at 3 3/4 in on the shorter side. This created a place for my to put my Scor-Tape and made a pocket.

If fits in there just right! This pocket could be a lot shorter if you wanted and you can adjust how long it is and where you score, if you need to make a roomy pocket for something more bulky. It’s very easy to adjust.

The next step is adding the ribbon. I found the spot that looked right, and put down two pieces of Scor-Tape: one on the front under where I knew my focal image would go, and one on the back of the card so it wouldn’t flop off everytime the card is opened.

I had a fun time decorating the front of the card using rectangles of the digital papers, sewing them onto some cardstock. I cut two circles, one of which is scalloped to create a frame for the apple image, which I cut out with my detail scissors and inked the edges with distress ink before putting on the circles with foam tape. I also cut out my sentiment “thank you teacher” on the digital label and adhered, adding two buttons as embellishment.

Other Articles by melissaj17:

• Card Caravan Challenge #8 - "Two" - December 11th, 2011
• Card Caravan Challenge #3- Autumn - October 2nd, 2011
• Desktop Organizer - August 31st, 2011
• Hybrid Coffee Mug and Card - July 18th, 2011
• Summer Passport - June 8th, 2011