Stampin' Fancy Friday is Getting Giftable

Are you in need of a gift idea for a friend who loves hand made works of heART?  Give them a hand-crafted loaded envelope and have tons of fun making things to fill it up and make it extra fancy and special.

If you search "loaded envelope" on Pinterest you'l be inspired by all the pins you will see.  Once I had a good idea of what I wanted to create I made my own pattern which includes two expanding pockets.  These pockets are roomy enough to hold lots of goodies.

I put together a short video tutorial to show you how to make the base envelope.  It includes the cutting and scoring measurements.  At the bottom of this post are the cutting and scoring details.

Here's a closer look at the decorated front pocket.  I used the Merriest Moments Bundle to add lots of fancy Christmassy elements along with the Peaceful Place Specialty DSP and Silver Foil to make this entire gift sparkle and shine.

Take a look at the expanding pockets.  You can see these allow for plenty of room for lots of goodies.  Goodies like: special gift tags, gift card holders, candy canes, chocolates, covered hot chocolate packets, and a Christmas wand.

This style gift card holder is super quick and easy to put together.  Cut a 6" x 6" piece of pattern paper and fold it in half.  Fold the upper front right corner down to create a lapel.  Add a thin bead of glue to the bottom and the open side to create a pocket.  Add any stamped embellishments you like to the lapel.  Last, tuck a gift card inside that is glue dotted to a Stitched So Sweetly scalloped rectangle--easy to do and fun.

Making a handful of extra-special gift tags gives the loaded envelope a festive look.  All the ribbons and twines add color and fullness to the finished packed envelope.

Just like the decor on the front pocket, these tags were made using the same Peaceful Place DSP and the Merriest Moments Bundle.

A handmade rossette and a black and white paper straw are the base for the Christmas wand.  It includes a Snowy White Velvet flower, paper curls, and if you look close you'll see an iridescent chenille tucked around the white greeting.  Are you wondering what to do with a wand?  I've inserted the straw/handle into a gift basket in lieu of a bow and it looked fabulous.  Another idea would be to slip it into a wreath, greenery garland, or Christmas tree.  It would also look awesome tied to a loaf of bread to give to a neighbor or coworker.

I truly hope you have been inspired by my loaded envelope and that you might want to create one too for someone special this Christmas season.