Great Friend Card Pouch

I saw something like this posted on a fellow demonstrator's blog recently, without a pattern, and thought it might be easy to re-create something similar with a sheet of card stock. I started by making a larger one with 12x12 card stock, but I honestly don't keep much of that size on hand, so I thought a tutorial for using letter sized sheets might be more practical. This card pouch should easily hold at least 8 standard size cards & envelopes! (I hope to post some matching cards tomorrow, to complete the gift set)

REMEMBER: as you go through this tutorial, you can click on any picture to see it larger. You will use ONE full sheet of 8-1/2" x 11" card stock to create the card pouch itself. Additional card stock will be necessary for embellishment.

First you'll want to cut two 4-1/2" x 8-1/2" pieces from your sheet of card stock. These pieces form the front and back of your box, so if you would like to decorate the background of these pieces, with Texturz Plates or Stampin' Around wheels, this is the time to do it! On each of these two 4-1/2" x 8-1/2" pieces, you will make one score mark 1-1/2" into one side of the card stock, parallel to the 4-1/2" side. The area from the score mark to the end of the card stock (approximately 1-1/2" x 4-1/2") will be the bottom of the project, so it's okay if your decoration does not extend all the way across that part.

After you cut the two 4-1/2" x 8-1/2" pieces, you will be left with a 2" x 8-1/2" strip. Cut this strip in half to get two 2" x 4-1/4" strips. On three sides of each 2" x 4-1/4" strip, make a score mark approximately 1/4" in from the side. Cut out the two small scored squares in the corners of each of the pieces. See picture below for end results of all cut and scored pieces:

Next, you'll want to punch holes in the top of each 4-1/2" x 8-1/2" piece, to use as a "handle", to tie the box closed. The top of each piece is the end farthest away from the score marks. The easiest way I've found to place a punch hole exactly where I want it, is to create a template out of grid paper.

To create a punch template for this project, cut a piece of grid paper to 4-1/2" wide, by 2" tall. To find the middle of the strip, fold it in half, then take a pen or pencil and mark the center line. Then decide how far the punch should be from the edge of the project. For this project, 1/2" from the edge is perfect. So, make another pencil mark at 1/2" from one of the 4-1/2" edges of the grid paper. See grid paper picture below for visual on the markings:

Now that I have the center of my template marked, and have marked the edge of where I want my punch hole, I will line up my punch using these lines for reference, and punch it. See pictures below for closeups:

All that's left is to place Dotto (temporary adhesive) on the back of the template, and stick it to the top of the 4-1/2" x 8-1/2" piece of card stock, lining up the edges of the grid paper with the card stock, as shown below. Remember, the top is the end farthest from the score mark. You can see exactly where to punch the hole now. You can either leave the template in place and line up the punch to punch inside the hole, or you can trace the punched out area with a pencil, if you don't want to risk over-punching into your paper template. Remove the grid paper template, and place it on the other 4-1/2" x 8-1/2" piece, and punch the second handle hole.

Take one of the 4-1/2" x 8-1/2" pieces, and place Sticky Strip (or other high-tack/strong adhesive) across the scored part as shown below. I like Sticky Strip because it is strong, and I don't have to wait for it to dry!:

Remove the red liner from the tape, and stick the two 4-1/2" x 8-1/2" pieces together, by overlapping the scored areas. For more detail, see the pictures below--they are taken from a few different angles to give you a better idea of what you're looking at. The front panel will be the one on which you place your Sticky Strip, because you will only see a fold at the bottom front, and not a seam.[Remember, you can see a larger image by clicking on any picture in this post.]

Now you'll use the 2" x 4-1/4" pieces to make the sides of the card pouch. To make assembly easier, fold each of the scored sides in towards the bump of the score mark, then fold back flat. See pictures below for visual:

Next, place adhesive onto the scored edges of each side piece, as shown below. If you use Sticky Strip, you may find it is just slightly wider than the area your scored tab will allow for adhesive. In this case, you can trim your Sticky Strip down the center lengthwise, and use half as much as I did on mine!

Remove the red liner from each piece of Sticky Strip as you get to it. You do not want the adhesive exposed before you are ready to join the pieces, or you might accidentally join tabs at the wrong place. I find it easiest to adhere the bottom tab of each side piece, to the bottom of the pouch first, as shown below.

After you adhere the bottom part of each side, then pull the sides of the box up and one by one remove the red liner from your Sticky Strip, carefully line up your pieces, and press to adhere.

Once all the side piece tabs are adhered, you may wish to take your bone folder and reach it inside the pouch, and press on the back side of the tabs to burnish the card stock into the adhesive. This provides a more secure holding.

Decorate the front of the box as desired, and loop ribbon through the handle to close the card pouch. The front looks beautiful when embossed with Texturz Plates, or stamped with a wheel in a coordinating color, prior to assembly. Experiment with rounding the corners, or punching partial shapes away from each corner (i.e., with the Designer Label punch) to add interest and elegance. You should be able to fit 8-12 standard cards, plus their envelopes, in this box--depending on the amount of layering you use on your cards.

This card pouch, filled with handmade cards and coordinating decorated envelopes, makes an excellent Mother's Day gift! Just remember, if you are giving away notecard sets, you'll want to be careful with your embellishments. Anything that makes a card over 1/4" thick, or which causes a significant protrusion from the card, may result in the following: sender may have to apply extra postage to the card, recipient may receive the card postage due, or, a protruding embellishment may be caught in a postal machine and mangle the envelope and/or the card.

Stampin' Supplies: Great Friend stamp set, Baja Breeze card stock and ink, Whisper White card stock, Top Note Sizzix Die, Walk in the Park Designer Series Paper, Kiwi Kiss ink, Bordering Blue ink (for the butterfly), Mini Glue Dots (rolled up and placed along fold of butterfly to adhere), Kiwi Kiss/Vanilla Ribbon, Stampin' Sponge (for Baja Breeze along top of die cut), Stampin' Dimensionals (to adhere Top Note), Large Oval Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, 1-1/4" Pink Pirouette Ribbon (1" Baja Breeze Double Stitched would also be great here!), Sticky Strip, Paper Snips, Bone Folder & Fiskars Trimmer (for making score lines), Grid Paper, Dotto.