How To Make a Super Cool Graduation Card With an Exploding Envelope

Graduation season has officially arrived and it's not too soon to think about special ways to celebrate our graduates! This handmade graduation card idea is fun to make, and equally fun to receive. Your grad will love the pockets and surprises inside this exploding envelope card! Let's take a look and I'll show you just how to make one yourself. 

This blog post contains affiliate links. When you shop through my links I may receive compensation at no cost to you. Thank you from the bottom of my crafty heart!

The main idea of this card, is that the envelope is actually the card. When it's opened, it can be filled with tiny pockets, notes, embellishments, and even a gift card. The envelope is held closed with a belly band, (a cardstock or paper strip wrapped around it.) 

Getting Started - How To Make An Envelope

Have you ever made your own envelopes using a scoring board? I'm a big fan of my FSJ Scoring Board but you can use any brand of scoring board you have. Each one is a little different, but if you need a refresher/want to learn more about the Journey Scoring Board from Spellbinders, click here for my simple tutorial.

To begin this project, make an envelope in any size you'd like. (TIP: Don't have a scoring board? Gently disassemble any envelope you have and use it as a stencil to make your own from scratch!) This one is a standard envelope for a 4.25x5.5" card. It's fun to play with different sizes though! Once you score and fold your envelope - don't seal it up. Why? Because it's time to add the surprise inside....

Let's Look Inside 

The envelope IS the card on this fun handmade project and there are so many surfaces to create with. Does this feel overwhelming? Let's think about it - the main rectangle of your envelope is the same size as a card. So tackle the layout as if you're creating a card. As you're creating, think about the flaps and how to incorporate them into your design. Your exploding envelope can be packed with embellishments, die cut shapes, stamped images, pockets and more - or you can keep it pretty clean and simple.

I love to add mini envelopes and pockets to add a gift card, notes or even photos. These exploding envelopes are really fun to theme for birthdays too. After you're done decorating the inside of the envelope, fold it up and then decide how to handle the front. I like to wrap a strip of patterned paper around it like a belly band or maybe some fabulous ribbon with a big bow. The recipient can just slide the band off and open the envelope.

Customize your exploding envelope with your graduates favorite colors, or school colors. Think about ways you can make it unique just for them. If you keep a little bin or basket of embellishments or stamped bits that haven't made it onto other cards, dig through there and see what might be perfect to add into your project! At the end of this post you'll find a supply list with all the items I used in case you see something that would be perfect for your exploding envelopes!

Supplies on Today's Graduation Card

Scoring Board

Hat's Off Die Set

Bravo Grad Stamp Set

Note Pocket Die

Grown Up Stuff Stamp Set

Baby Envelope Die

Vagabond Chips - clearance!

Fam Bam Paperclip Elements - clearance!

Need some more exploding envelope inspiration? You're in luck! I have two springtime exploding envelopes that I'd love to share with you. 

Click here to see this plus a floral exploding envelope idea, and even a video tutorial for this project!

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Make Gift Card Giving Extra Special with a Handmade Pocket Card

How do you feel about gift cards? I'm pretty sure you're not going to turn down a gift card, right? Who doesn't love free money? But at the same time, giving gift cards often feels impersonal and we can feel guilty turning to them as a gift idea. Here's the best news of your day: wrap that gift card up in adorable handmade packaging, and GUILT BE GONE. (And seriously, no one is EVER disappointed with a gift card, so that guilt should be gone anyway!) 

This blog post contains affiliate links. When you shop through my links I may receive compensation at no cost to you. Thank you from the bottom of my crafty heart!

Today I have two floral pocket ideas so you can gift your gift cards in STYLE. Both projects begin with FSJ's Double Pocket Die. Check out this die so you can really see what we're starting out with. Then come RIGHT back . . .I'll wait for you. 

 One pass through the die-cutting machine and you'll have the overall shape of this double pocket. Then with some quick folding on the scored lines, you'll have an assembled pocket ready to decorate and fill with a note and gift card, photos, movie tickets - whatever you'd like to give!

For the first double pocket I created, I used the Beautiful Friendship stamp set. This is such a fun stamp set, because the petals, the center of the coneflower and the leaves are all separate stamps so it's easy to stamp everything in the color you want. To add more dimension and color to my images, after I stamped the yellow petals, green leaves and brown center, I went back over the images with colored pencils, adding in oranges and reds to the petals and shades of green and brown. I love the way this technique works on this solid stamp set. 

To add another color to the center panel of the Double Pocket, simply die-cut another one in a contrasting color, trim the section you need, and adhere it to the assembled pocket. (The light blue panel on my first project, and the embossed yellow layer on the second one.)

For my second project, I followed the same basic idea except I used a die-cut floral image and a big puffy ribbon wrapped around. I used the Star Burst Bloom Die Set to layer this fun flower together.

To finish off the Double Pocket, add a coordinating note card, and a cute clip will hold a gift card or tickets in place. A project like this can be handed to it's happy recipient as is or placed into an envelope or gift bag.

The best part - almost everything I used for these two projects is ON SALE right now! Whatttt!?
Oh YES, my dear crafty friends. The stamps, the floral die set, the Double Pocket Die, the twine and clips and ribbon . . .ALL. ON. SALE. So scroll right on down and click on your favorite items to do a little shopping!

Shop the Supplies on Today's Projects:

Check out the SALE PRICE for many of these items! Grab them before they're GONE!

Double Pocket Die

Beautiful Friendship Stamp Set 

Also check out the Friendship Blessing Stamp Set

Detail Pro Shears - my favorite scissors!

Color Burst Pure Color Pencils

Star Burst Bloom Die Set - is out of stock, but check out the Bloom Creator Die Set, which is similar and also super cute!

Bloom Creator Die Set

Platinum 6 Die Cutting Machine

Magic Mat that fits Platinum 6

I love using the Magic Mat for this project, because it alleviates those pesky cutting lines on the underneath side of die cut shapes. You know, the ones from your best used cutting plates? 

Shop all the Magic Mat sizes here

I'm so glad you stopped by today. Let's connect again - subscribe so you don't miss a blog post! Plus, follow me on Pinterest where I'm sharing crafty projects every day!

Make a Festive Coffee Cup Wrap {Simple gift idea!}

Want to add a simple handmade touch to store-bought gifts?

Sometimes an everyday store-bought gift just needs a little personal touch to make it extra festive and fun! This gift idea is perfect for teachers, coaches, co-workers, neighbors. Anyone you want to shower with a little bit of semi-DIY love! Use printed paper, die cut shapes and twine to embellish everyday coffee tumblers. (And then add an extra surprise inside!!) 

Last year I picked up these coffee tumblers at Target in the after-Christmas clearance. I cannot pass up the amazing post-holiday sales for items I can use as gifts throughout the year! But I wanted to jazz this gift up with a handmade touch. 

I started off with a two-inch strip of patterned paper, wrapped it around the coffee cup and adhered it with two-sided tape. Then I did some quick die cutting with a poinsettia steel rule die from Fun Stampers Journey. (This die is retired, but any flower die would be perfect on this project - you could even change the colors and dies seasonally, depending on the occasion!)  A quick twine bow finished off the project. Seriously, THAT'S IT! You still have time to whip this project up as a last minute gift! 

I packed the coffee cups full of tinsel, candy, and a gift card. Clearly, a coffee gift card would have made sense, but for photography sake, Walmart was what I had handy! You get the idea. ;) My little guy took these in for teacher gifts today, before the winter break. I hope they like them!

It's a short and sweet blog post today because you know...tis the season! I hope your holiday week is extra special and filled with laughter and warm fuzzies. Breathe deep and find all kinds of joy in your day, no matter what! Thanks so much for taking a minute to stop by today! I'm grateful for you, my friends!!! xoxo

Supplies on today's project:

The poinsettia die I used is retired, but here are some other awesome flower dies you could use! 

Summer Bouquet Steel Rule Die (I use this die ALL the time for assorted projects!) 

Romantic Bloom Die Set

Clover Bloom Die Set
Blooming Details Die Set (especially love the leaves in this set!) 

You could also cluster some premade flower embellishments, like these Poinsettia Burst Flowers.

Or, you could stamp some poinsettias - the Poinsettia Burst stamp set is my favorite!

Simple Birthday Card Set {5 Helpful Tips for Mass-producing Cards!}

I'm not sure why, but I have a huge sense of satisfaction when I use up a big stash of paper scraps, and make a giant stack of handmade cards. During the hurricane a few weeks ago, I made about 60 cards. Super simple, and with really cute paper that had been sitting in a bucket for far too long. I'll use the cards for gift sets for my kids' teachers, friends and family, and occasionally I sell sets of seasonal cards as well.

Inspired by those quick and simple cards, i created one to share with all of you! For this one, I used new paper and an AWESOME stamp from Fun Stampers Journey. I am obsessed with this Make A Wish stamp, along with it's coordinating die. The holiday season is almost upon us - plus, there are so many people who could use a happy handmade thought from each of us.

So whether you plan to mass-produce cards to share with others, or to package up and give as gifts, here are a few of my tips for mass-producing handmade cards:

1. KEEP IT SIMPLE - 
This is probably the most important tip so if you retain only ONE thing from me, this should be it. I can't tell you how many times I have decided to make a bunch of coordinating cards, and then realize I am in WAY over my head, and the cards are taking much too long.

2. USE WHAT YOU LOVE - 
This tip has two meanings. First, do you hoard printed paper and products that you love so much you don't want to use them? JUST USE THEM. They're bringing no one joy, if they're shoved in a drawer.  Secondly, when making a whole bunch of something, you're going to lose interest if you hate the paper or hate the stamps you're using. Many times, I stick with one layout, but then mix up the sentiments, or mix up the papers, depending on what I have. But either way, if you don't love it, you're going to hate it. ;)

3. WORK ASSEMBLY-LINE STYLE -
Once you've established your (simple - yes simple) card design, tackle each step at one time. Trim and fold a stack of card bases. Then, trim patterned paper to the appropriate size. Stamp the sentiments, and trim or die-cut. Then begin to assemble your cards. This will take far less time, than working from start to finish on each card.

4. THINK AHEAD ON SIZES - 
Speaking of trimming paper...A standard card size is usually 4.25x5.5. BUT if you have lots of 12x12 cardstock you'd like to use for card bases, make them 4x5.5 instead. No one will notice the difference, and that way you can get THREE card bases from each 12x12 sheet. In addition, think about your patterned paper sizes. Depending on whether you're using 6x6 or 12x12 printed paper, determine your project layout to maximize your paper. (If you need inspiration, check out my Pinterest board where I've been collecting projects that are perfect for mass-producing projects with patterned paper.)

5. BE A BARGAIN SHOPPER- 

Cards need envelopes. If you plan to give card sets as holiday gifts, (or throughout the year) start using coupons for your big box craft/hobby store, or watch for sales on envelopes. Grab the envelopes throughout the year, and then you'll have them handy when you compile a quick card set. 

I hope these tips will help you get into your stash, create for others, and have FUN, and spread JOY. Having fun and spreading joy is what it should all be about! Thanks so much for stopping by today! Super big crafty hugs to each of you! xoxo

Supplies used on this project:

Make A Wish Stamp Set (AT-0246)

Make A Wish Die Set (DI-0355)

Designer Choice Prints (retired)

Pineapple Smoothie Cardstock

Journey Glaze

Looking for more simple birthday card designs? 

Check out this post featuring the YAY stamp and die set from FSJ. 

PLUS, follow my Pinterest board of Easy to Make Handmade Cards

There's Always Room for S'More {s'mores gift basket tag}

Do you need a super cute gift idea for a friend or family member? What about a treat basket filled with everything needed for a family s'mores night? Include chocolate, graham crackers, marshmallows, and skewers. And check out this cool graphic with 16 variations of traditional s'mores! You might get some ideas for other creative ideas to add to your basket. What a fun evening in front of the fireplace, or outside by a crackling bonfire!

To create this tag, I diecut the tag, and embossed it. Then I layered on some cozy patterned papers, and corrugated stock for added texture. I stamped the sentiment on a diecut circle, and stamped and trimmed the layers of the s'more. The Always S'more stamp set is so much fun because each layer of the s'more is a different stamp, so you can create and layer together as many pieces as you want - (and BONUS...they're calorie free!) 

Always S'more Stamp Set SS-0311

To finish off the tag, I splattered a little Silk, and added a wooden tree and enamel dots. How cute would this look attached to a basket of s'more goodies?! Check out the list of supplies below, and leave a comment if you have any questions! I hope your February is off to a warm and cozy start! January was such a blur, I feel like NOW is the start of the new year. January was just a practice month. Ya feel me?! Thanks for stopping by my sweet, crafty friends! xoxo

Christmas in July: Day 4 {The Stamps of Life}

Happy Holidays! I'm enjoying my vacation with my family right now, so I thought I'd leave you with a little Christmas in July while I'm away. Scroll on down to see the first few days of winter inspiration, if you've missed it. 

Today I've got a card featuring The Stamps of Life. There are quite a few super-cute holiday themed stamp sets at The Stamps of Life, and these Christmas lights are one of my favorites. Lights4Christmas is a cool stamp set because it has the Christmas bulb outline, plus solid and polka-dotted inside shapes to customize your lights. It's also great for paper-piecing and stamped techniques. 

On this card I stamped the light bulb outline, and then stamped the inside with the dotted stamp. I trimmed the lights and adhered them to the card, with some string behind. Isn't that little Merry Christmas tag cute? Perfect for little gift tags or accents. (And even better. . .this stamp set has coordinating dies, great for mass producing Christmas cards and projects!) 

Next up, a little packaging project. I used a Sizzix Thinlits Milk Carton die and my Big Shot to create this little box. It would be perfect for little candies or treats. It's small - 3 5/8 inches tall when assembled. It's ADORABLE.

Well, my friends - this brings us to the end of my little Christmas in July! Thanks so much for visiting this week! If you've gotten fired up about creating for the holidays, I'd love to see what you're up to! Link me up with your creations and I'll check them all out when I get home from my summer vacation next week! And not to worry, me and the Go-to Gals will be sharing some fun on Wednesday. It's Go-to Gal Designer Challenge day, and we're showcasing Hazel & Ruby! So FUN! Hugs! xoxo

Milk carton supplies:

Milk carton die - (find it on Scrapbook.com) (find it on Sizzix.com) 

patterned paper and chipboard - Fancy Pants Timbergrove 12x12 pad and chipboard

Crafting with journaling cards {On Cherry Street}

Hello friends! I am blogging over at the Sweet Stamp Shop, and I'm sharing a few projects that I've made with the new On Cherry Street kit. If you haven't stopped by lately, I hope you'll head over there and check out my projects, plus the new stamps and goodies that have been released this month!

Here's a sneak peek of one of the projects I have over on the Sweet blog. I'm talking about die-cutting journaling cards. (And I made a big confession. . . you'll have to go read the blog to see what it is!)

But I promised in my blog post, that I'd have another new project here for you - so here it is, my friends. This is so quick and easy. I used a journaling card from the kit, matted it, and punched a hole in the top corner. Then I threaded some twine through it and tied a quick bow. Adhered to a coordinating gift bag, and it's good to go! I love 5 minute projects, because let's face it - sometimes that's all we have! 

You can find all the SWEET details about the July stamps, as well as the On Cherry Street kit over on the Sweet Stamp Shop website. These kits are pretty special, and I'm so excited to see what's to come! And now, don't forget. . .stop by and see me at the Sweet blog!

POP! {popcorn gifts and goodies from TSOL}

Hello, hello! I've been quiet around here during this first part of January. Lots going on, and my husband has been traveling for the past two weeks, so combined with the holidays, the days have just been passing me by! But I'm here today to share a few popcorn projects, featuring some of the January stamps from The Stamps of Life, popcorn2stamp and words4popcorn. 

This set is fun for cards, but I've also enjoyed making some quick treat wraps and packaging ideas with these stamps and dies.  On this first project I used the Sizzix milk carton die to create the box. (I cut the top off of it!)  Then stamped and die cut the popcorn box shape, and adhered it to the front of the box. It's a fun little gift box, perfect for movie tickets, a gift card, or a candy bar. 

This next project is a cute little bitty card. I folded a small top-folding card base and adhered the die cut popcorn box and a few little pieces of popcorn "spilling" out. 

 Next up, and clean and graphic popcorn card. . . . .

On this microwave popcorn wrapper I just folded a piece of cardstock around the package and embellished. This was SUPER quick and simple. I thought it could be a fun little pick-me-up gift to slide into a coworker's desk. 

How about a popcorn party favor? This is just a plain old zip top bag, with cardstock folded over the top to make a bag topper. 

I hope you like today's projects! I'll be back tomorrow with a sneak peek of some fun new Sizzix dies and stamps that Stephanie Barnard created, which are being debuted at the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) winter show this week in Anaheim! See you tomorrow!!!

Hugs! 

xoxo

Christmas Countdown Day 3 {October Afternoon}

Welcome to day 3 of my oldie-but-goodie Christmas countdown. I'm sharing one of my favorite past holiday projects each day as we count down to Christmas. 

Today's gift back was created with lots of lovely October Afternoon product. I have been a die-hard October Afternoon fan since their very first release. . .and this collection is definitely from a few years ago, but it's just as lovely today as it was when it was released! 

This gift bag is very different from my usual style - it's way more layered and busy than I normally work. Maybe that's why I like it! 

Will I see you tomorrow? I hope so! I'll be back with some holiday projects featuring The Stamps of Life! See you then! xoxo

Christmas Countdown Day 1 {Close To My Heart}

Helllllllllo! We are seriously excited about Christmas around here! My big kiddo is out of school now, so we have big plans for ornament-making, and cookie-baking. Here on the blog, I have a fun little oldie-but-goodie Christmas countdown. I'll reshare one of my favorite past holiday projects each day as we count down to Christmas. If you've been visiting for a while, you may remember some of these! Today I have a fun little Christmas project to share that I made a few years ago featuring Close To My Heart stamps.

 

 You can easily recreate this (and I have) using lots of different products, and for lots of themes other than Christmas.  I purchased these little pails from the Target Dollar Bin - I think it was after Halloween, a few years ago.  They are such a fun size to fill with candy, or crayons. The ribbons are just knotted on to the handle, and it's a GREAT way to use up ribbon scraps! I stamped the image onto sticky-backed paper, and just stuck it right onto the can, and added the dot details with a silver Sharpie.

Thanks so much for coming by today! Enjoy the last minute hustle and bustle of the season! See you tomorrow! xoxo

Tag those gifts! {Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking}

Hello, hello! It's December 18th! Eeek! We're on the official One Week Countdown to Christmas. I'm so excited!!!!! I've posted over on the Paper Crafts Connection today, and I'm sharing some easy, crafty (and sanity-saving) ideas for tagging those remaining gifts (or all your gifts, if you haven't started wrapping yet!)

(project goodies: patterned paper, stickers - October Afternoon, cardstock  - Discount Cardstock, ribbon - Offray)

I also have a new Pinterest board that I've started, called Wrap It and Tag It - I've been collecting ideas not only for Christmas, but all kinds of gift wrapping ideas. There are quick printables, and do-it-yourself ideas, as well as links to some great stamps and dies that are just perfect for tag-making and gift wrap! 

 Plus I have one more bonus Christmas tag freebie today. Head over to my sweet mama's CTMH page for a colorful printable tag PDF from Close To My Heart! 

Thank you so much for coming by today! And stick around this week . . .I've been going through some of my past "oldies-but-goodies" Christmas cards that I've created over the past few years. I'm going to share a favorite holiday project each day this week, so come on back tomorrow for a little more last minute inspiration! 

xoxo