How is your holiday shopping coming? I spent all weekend at the mall getting those gifts for people who just don’t want another piece of art (specifically nieces and nephews who prefer things that light up, bleep, and break when you step on them).
Then there are the people on my gift list who would really be best served by a night out on the town, more moola for their iTunes account, or the gift of a spa trip. How does one hand over a little piece of plastic no bigger than the palm of your hand? In a souped up gift card holder! Not only does it make a lovely package for gift-giving, it also serves as a creative business card holder long after the gift card has been used.
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I happened to see a sneak preview of artist Susan Brubaker Knapp’s TV segment from Quilting Arts TV 700 series. Susan created a lovely stenciled and free-motion quilted business card which you can watch on the DVD. I’ve taken Susan’s directions and simplified them down to a basic business card holder that you can paint, stamp, print, alter, or stencil and stitch like Susan.
MATERIALS:
- Cotton fabric (2 pieces cut to 10” x 4-7/8”)
- Interfacing/stabilizer, such as Pellon 910 polyester sew-in interfacing, 10” x 4-7/8”
- Embellishing materials (stamps, inks, brushes, etc.)
- Pins
- Pressing cloth (or piece of unwanted fabric)
- Sewing machine and thread
- Needle
DIRECTIONS:
- Decorate one piece of fabric as desired. Let the fabric dry.
- Stack the fabrics in this order: Interfacing, the undecorated piece of fabric (face up), then the decorated fabric (face down). Pin all the pieces together around the perimeter.
- Sew around the perimeter of the stack (se a 1/4” seam allowance) leaving a 2” opening on one of the short sides for turning. Clip corners.
- Turn right side out, with the interfacing inside. Push out corners with a blunt tool. Turn raw edges under at the opening and press. Hand-stitch the opening closed.
- Fold in half, right side out, so piece is 4-3/4” x 4-3/8”. Press.
- Open up the piece, and fold the top and bottom edges down approximately 2-1/8” to form the two inside pockets on the inside. Pin in place from the front/outside.
- From the outside of the card holder, stitch around the perimeter of the card holder about 1/8” from the edge. This holds the pockets down on the back.
How would you decorate your gift card holder? Share your ideas here on the blog.
Happy pending Holidays!
