Felt Gift Card Holders

They make a great gift for teens and young adults. They're a nice way to round out a smaller and more personal gift. They're convenient and always the right size.

I've noticed that more and more stores are offering cute envelopes or boxes along with their gift cards, and I wanted to take that idea a bit further. I've put my sewing skills to work make three themed gift card holders. You can tuck them into a card, or they'd look adorable nestled in tissue paper inside a wrapped box. They'd even be perfect as a gift topper – see how cute they look on a wrapped present? I simply wrapped my package with yellow twine and then tucked the popcorn gift card holder under a couple of the strings. I punched a tag and embellished it with a punched heart before adding it to the packing – the back is the perfect place to write the name of the recipient.

The construction of these is fairly simple. I started with wool felt, which is a bit stiffer and easier to work with than the felt you buy in sheets at a craft store. Since it's a bit more expensive and sold by the yard, I opted to buy just one neutral, and then dress it up with handsewn accents.

For each gift card holder, I created a pattern on paper, making sure that my gift card would fit inside the shape. I then used that pattern to cut two pieces of felt. I added my handstitched accents to the top shape before sewing them together along three sides – leaving the top open so that the gift card could be added.

I started with a coffee mug – the perfect match for a gift card to a coffee shop. I'm not an expert at hand stitching by any means, so I kept my designs simple and opted to do a simple back stitch, varying the lengths for interest. I also used my Round n Round squeeze punch as a template to create the scallops on the mug.

For my next design, I wanted to try incorporating a bit of patterned paper. This tub of popcorn is designed to hold a gift card to a movie theater or rental place. I added yellow patterned paper behind my yellow popcorn buttons at the top, and added a hand stitched ledger paper label to the front of the container. Once again, I used a Squeeze Punch – this time That's Amore – as a template for a stitched accent. I also stitched stripes down the front of the gift card holder, reminiscent of the iconic movie popcorn tubs.

When I made this shirt, I knew I wanted to add a decorative edge to the felt with my SoftGrip Pinking Shears. I edged both the bottom and the sleeves, and then did some zigzag stitching to echo the design. I added more stitching and a button accent along the neckline. Now all I need to do is add a giftcard to a favorite clothing store and it's ready to be gifted!

The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. I've made three examples – but here are a few more ideas:

Video game controller – electronics store gift card

Ipod / mp3 player – music gift card

Car – gas gift card or toy store gift card

Doll – toy store gift card

Purse / shopping bag – any gift card

I hope you have fun with these ideas – I can't wait to see how you dress up your gift cards for the holidays!