Gift cards are such a common gift now, but it's so nice to dress up and personalize the presentation -- so how about a gift card holder that's so pretty the recipient will be inspired to save and reuse the holder (hopefully). I was inspired by the wonderful SU Demo Patty Bennett, who loves turning SU's Open end envelopes into everything from cards to these gift card holders.

I used Stampin's up's Kraft envelopes as I like how extra sturdy they are. Just tuck the end up under the flap and fold and you've got the base of your holder. The Designer Papers used are from the Ski Slope package and the stamp set is the beautiful Winter Post set, both items from the Holiday Mini catalog that runs through Jan. 18. The Vanilla Hodgepodge label holder is so great to go around the Dec. 25 label stamp that was punched out with the coordinating label punch. You could attach ribbon under the label holder before attaching it if you wanted to be able to tie the holder shut with a pretty, easy-to-open bow.

A 3 1/2" by 1 3/4" piece of textured Chocolate Chip card stock disguises the outside of the envelope flap. Then on the inside....

... it's a feast for the eyes! A 3 1/2" by 1 1/2" strip of the Striped SKi slope paper hides the inside of the flap and covers up that "gummy" part of the envelope that I would not want to lick and close anyway. The paper also covers up the backs of the brads that hold on that hardware. (I used Tombow Multi adhesive to glue on the paper). An olove sponged hill scene creates a place for the reindeer to frolic and the Merry Christmas is from another SU set I love called Holidays & Wishes. Here's a look at how I finished off the outside once you can see the whole thing....
And I have a trick for making the 3 1/4" by 3" red insert that holds the gift card. I use SU's slit punch to make little half moon slits that hold the card. But I like those slits to be in just the right place so the card fits and so that they line up across from each other and look nice. Here was my solution.

I made a little guide that lets me make marks that are erasable and I just use those to line up the guide marks on the back of my punch -- there's a centering mark and the marks made through those two little circles is where I point the two Sharpie marks I drew on the back of the punch that tells me where the bottom edge of the slit is. Easy once you do it! And the result is worth it as you can see with the gift card in here upside down so you can see it better.

Here's a look at another one I made with the Merry & Bright set (plus a greeting stamp from To You & Yours set) and a white open end envelope.


So dress up those gift cards this year!