Holiday Card Gift Boxes

I save cards... all kinds - Birthday cards, Easter cards and especially Christmas cards.  I keep them in a basket in the corner of my craft room and use them for all kinds of crafty goodness.

I love the artwork and/or the sentiments and can't bear to throw them away, so I recycle them into gift boxes and tags.

It takes very little time and all you need is a paper trimmer (or ruler and craft knife), embossing stylus (or dead ball point pen) and some glue.  I usually look for cards that have an even border all the way around like this one, then I don't even need to measure.

Here's what you do:

Step 1:  Cut the card in half along the fold line, then score straight lines along each side of the front of the card the same distance from the edge.  If your card has a border that's the same width all the way around, like this one, score along the lines around the center image.

 

Step 2:  Cut one slit at each corner from the outer edge to the point where the scored lines meet. This is to create the tabs.  You can use scissors, or a paper trimmer. 

Step 3:  Fold the sides toward the back of the card then fold the tabs inward and glue in place to create the top of the box. 

 

Step 4:  Score and cut the other side of the card to create the bottom of the box.  TIP: Make the borders around the bottom of the box about 1/16th of an inch wider so the top will fit over the bottom more neatly.

I always have so many cards to choose from, I never run out of gift boxes! 

Some of the card fronts however,  don't always make the best box tops. A few of them have a separate dimensional piece on top.

I remove these carefully and either adhere them to heavy weight card stock and make a gift box from scratch, or punch a hole in the top then add ribbon to make a tag.

People don't seem to send as many Christmas cards as they used to, so I have to admit, I have been known to buy boxes of cards when they go on sale after the holidays....  just to make these little gift boxes.... LOL   Enjoy!  Y'all come back now...........

Yours truly,
Julie :)

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON CRAFTING!