Graduation Cards with Gift Card Pocket Ideas

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. I was tasked with a major project of creating 13 graduation cards. Aside from the graduation theme, the request was for the graduation cards to have a pocket for a gift card. If you follow my blog, you already have a preview of two of the graduation cards. I added these two cards on this post.

The card on the right is a pocket card with a belly band for accent. I am so happy to be able to add some stitching to this card since my fingers have been itching to stitch. The one on the right is a gift card box. I used the We R Memory Keepers Shadow Box Punch Board to create this. The features of these cards can be more appreciated on the short videos below.

Belly Band Grad Card with Stitching

Shadow Box Grad Card

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These graduation cap cards are fun to create. I designed the graduation caps how the caps are jazzed up these days. The tassel is made of rolled up, fringed crepe paper. The card on the left stands up for display as shown on the photo below.

The features of these cards are better shown in the short videos below. 

Stand up Grad Cap Card

Folded Grad Cap Card

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The card on the left features a wobbly Cricut cut graduation cap. The one on the right is an oversized tag to which I added a gift card pocket. I also added two elements that I love, stitching and rosette.  Below are videos showcasing these two cards.

Wobbly Grad Cap Card

Oversized Grad Pocket Tag 

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I created a slimcard sized graduation card with the gift card pocket on the front which can be seen through the front panel year window. 

See Through Gift Card Pocket Grad Card

So as not to waste the number drop outs of the previous two cards, I used these numbers to create the above cards. The gift card pocket was a simple pocket which I forgot to take a photo of.

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Let's not forget the first two cards of this graduation collection which I created for Stick It Down. This a two-for-one card. The card on the left is a shaker card and the card on the right has 3D stars. Details of this card can be seen on this post: 2-for-1 Graduation Cards.

And for the star of these graduation cards collection, the card made especially for the son of the person who commissioned me to do this graduation project. (Thank you for allowing me to share this card.)

I used the Karen Burniston Photo Collage Pop-Up Craft Dies. This die set may look intimidating at the start but after putting the elements together, it is actually fun. Opening and closing the card is like ASMR. I added a bit of twist on this pop-up card by substituting some of the pop-ups with letter/number dies. I personalized the card to the graduate's faves and his future college. 

This card does not have a gift card pocket. I added stitched rectangles for the sender to write a message on.

Below is a video showing the ASMR moment of the card. 

If you got this far on this post, thank you so much. I apologize for a very long post but I hope you enjoyed the short videos showcasing the grad cards I made.

Have a blessed, brilliant and created day!

Maria Giselle B.

I shared this project at

Simon Says: Masculine

Challenge 6~Anything Goes #92

Doodlebug World Card Making Day 2025 Card #2

 

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. This is the second card I created for the Doodlebug Design WCMD Challenge. This time, it is for a sketch challenge. The sketch is at the bottom of this post. I enjoy sketch challenges because it is formatted which works well with my creative mind. 

The focal point of the card, the Christmas tree, is a Scrapbook.com exclusive Doodlebug Design stamp set. It has been discontinued, unfortunately. 

I fussy cut the Christmas tree which was not that hard to do. 

I used the A & B sides of a Doodlebug Christmas patterned paper. I die cut the center and flipped the patterned papers to add interest. I inked the middle portion to achieve some contrast.

I die cut the scallops on the same red patterned paper for a tone on tone look. I added stitching to the scallops with a die to add details and make the scallops noticeable.

I hope you like my second card. I enjoyed creating these cards for the Doodlebug WCMD Challenges. 

Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

I shared this card at

#DoodlebugWCMD2025

Simon Says Stamp Blog

Challenge #352~Seasonal

Doodlebug World Card Making Day 2025

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. One of the things I look forward to on WCMD is the Doodlebug Design Challenges. I love their challenges so I try to play along if I can using my Doodlebug stash which is not a lot. I used a lot of Doodlebug products in creating classroom giveaways for my sons when they are still young. The Doodlebug images are so playful and the colors are so vibrant making it fit for kids. When my boys grew up, classroom giveaways are not a thing anymore. The local store that sold Doodlebug Designs closed up which lessened my access to it. 

I was not getting a creative spark as I was looking through my Doodlebug craft stash. I am trying to make it work but I feel that I overused the limited Doodlebug stash I have over the years. So I made a trip to the last standing craft store in my area, the Checkered Cottage. It has a re-sell spot and guess what I found? Thanks to Christine, Checkered Cottage's Re-Create Go To Person, who helped me with the Doodlebug stamp set. I also found a Doodlebug die set. If it was not meant to be.

So this is what I came up for the One Color Challenge as inspired by the Doodlebug Design's new collection Oh What Fun specifically the trees. I hope you like it. 

 

Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

I shared this project at

#DoodlebugWCMD2025

Simon Says Stamp Blog

Baby Boy Themed Hot Air Balloon Centerpiece

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. Early this month I created a hot air balloon centerpiece for Paper Rose Studio. A coworker of mine liked it that she commissioned me to create a baby boy themed centerpiece which she will gift to a friend on her friend's baby shower.

I find it challenging to re-create a project I made. It gives me a chance to improve the design of the project.

My first challenge was to find the right patterned paper for the project. She requested it to be colored blue. My local craft store does not carry a lot of blue patterned paper. So, I resorted to online ordering with the hope that it is the right blue, and that it will arrive on time for me to meet my deadline. I ordered the patterned papers from Scrapbook.com which shipped my order in time. The patterned papers are from Doodlebug Design which was perfect for the project theme.

I won't go into details on how I created this centerpiece. If you are interested in the creation process, here is the link to the post of my first hot air balloon project which includes process photos:

https://ienjoywhatido.blogspot.com/2025/03/paper-rose-studio-sweet-valentine-hot.html

I cut the giraffe using Cricut. I layered the cuts. I added details to the eyes and the spots using markers. 

On the weaved basket, instead of cutting the excess, I folded the excess inward and adhered it to the inside of the basket. This made the edge of the basket smoother. This is one of the improvements I made on this balloon.

I adhered baby themed sequins on the bottom of the platform where the giraffe rests for additional details. I should have adhered this sequins before inserting the platform inside the basket. It just makes the adhering of the sequins easier.

I added something heavy underneath the platform to prevent the centerpiece from falling. This is another improvement to this hot air balloon. I used heavy foams from my stash which perfectly fitted underneath the platform. I got these foams from my sister, who is not sure how to use it.

I adhered a light blue pearl on the top of the hot air balloon for additional embellishment. This is another improvement to the design. It is also a way of hiding any imperfections with adhering the honeycomb paper.

This is how the hot air balloon looks viewing it form the side. I love the design variation created by the double sided patterned paper.

I took a photo of both hot air balloon centerpieces that I created before delivering the blue piece to my coworker. 

I hope you like today's project. Thank you for visiting my blog. Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

I am sharing this project at

Simon Says: Transport It

The Cherry Blog~March is National Craft Month!

March 2025 Challenge #74~Anything Goes

Stitched Card

 

Hello! Belated Happy World Card Making Day! I always look forward to this day even if it is a work day (work night, I should say) for me. One of the events during WCMD that I love to participate in is the Doodlebug Design's WCMD challenges. They have several challenges and the Stitch It Up Challenge is my most favorite. If you have been following me, you know that this is within my alley since I love to stitch.

I trimmed the B side of the Doodlebug Design Dragon Tails Cobblestones patterned paper to a little over 4" x 4". I poked holes where the triangle meet. I did a running stitch on these holes using DMC embroidery floss. I used colors of embroidery floss that coordinates with the colors of the triangle.

For the card base, I used a trifold card from the Doodlebug Design Cards & Envelopes Hello Assortment. On the small flap of this note card, I die cut the word thanks. The die I used is from Paper Smooches. The die created holes which can be left as is or since these are holes, it gave me an opportunity to add stitching to it. 

I adhered the stitched panel to the larger flap of the trifold card. The short end of this trifold card, where I stitched the thanks has a notch. I trimmed this off since I did not want the stitched panel to be covered. 

I added Doodlebug Design gray sequins to the stitched panel. I topped this with blue gems.

Thank you for dropping by. I hope you like today's card. Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

I am sharing this project at

Doodlebug Design FB

Doodlebug Design FB

Add Some Texture

 

Weaved Christmas Tree Platform Pop-up Card (WCMD Card #3)

 

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. Some save the best for last. I think I did with this interactive card I created to celebrate World Card Making Day as prompted by Doodlebug's WCMD Challenges. I am using two 6x6 paper pads for this card, Frosty Friends and The Graduate. Yes, I used a graduation themed patterned paper. I will reveal which part of the card it is later on.

I die cut a plaid patterned paper using the Lawn Fawn Stitched Christmas Tree Frames die. I used the negative tree cut. I cut slits from side to side using a craft knife. I trimmed scraps of strips into a triangular shape. I threaded the strips through the slits. I glued the ends of the strips, and trimmed off the excess. I threaded glitter tape and ribbon through the strips. 

I die cut the Lawn Fawn Platform Pop-up die on gray star patterned paper from The Graduate paper pack. I die cut two pieces to create the platform and fits a 6x6 paper. This is the only paper from the The Graduate paper pad that I used for this pop-up card. Everything else is from the Frosty Friends patterned paper. 

The die creates score lines for folding. Reinforce the folds with a bone folder for a crisper fold. 

The top portion of the platform has two openings for additional pop-ups. I only have the Christmas tree as the pop up for this card so I won't be using these openings. To cover it, I traced this portion of the platform on a white patterned paper. I cut these pieces using the pencil marks as a guide. After I erased the pencil marks, I adhered these pieces to a double sided adhesive tape with the white portion adhered to the tape. I burnished the tapes with a bone folder. I removed the release paper and poured Elizabeth Crafts Silk Microfine Glitter to the tape. To activate the glitter, I rubbed it with my finger. I wiped off the excess glitter. I adhered these pieces to the top portion of the platform.

I assembled each platform using strong double sided adhesive. I adhered the tab die cut on the inner side of one of the platform pieces before adhering the other platform piece, sandwiching the tab die cut.

I adhered the weaved Christmas tree to the tab. I adhered another Christmas tree die cut to the back of the weaved tree for a clean look. 

I die cut two stars from the die set on a gray patterned paper. I embossed the stars with glitter embossing powder. I adhered the stars to the top of the Christmas tree, one on the front, and one on the back for a finished look. 

I embellished the Christmas tree with sequins. I added glitter drops to the center of the sequins. I set this aside to dry. 

I die cut the ribbon from the die set on a purple and blue patterned paper. I used a stylus to curl the ribbon for some dimension. I adhered the die cuts to the side of the platform. 

I apologize for a very long instructional post. I am still in the process of editing the process video of this card. Stay tuned! Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you like today's project. Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

I am sharing this creation at

Doodlebug Design FB WCMD Challenge

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog~Christmas

Challenge Blog~Holiday/Celebration Cards 4 Kids

Ink Blended Stamped Background (WCMD Card #2)

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. I am so inspired by Doodlebug's World Card Making Day Challenges that I created a second card. For this card, I was inspired by their mood board which I attached at the end of this post. The theme of the mood board is Halloween but what caught my attention is the colors on the mood board. I am using a Doodlebug stamp set called Cute and Crafty.

On a Strathmore Bristol paper cut at 4 1/2" x 6", I blended Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks following the colors on the mood board. I made pencil marks on one side to give me an idea of how much space I need for each color. I blended the inks to this panel. I set this aside to dry before I stamped the images. You can also speed the drying process with the use of a heat tool.

Using the Misti Stamping Tool and a sticky mat, I positioned the ink blended panel on the center of the sticky mat. I arranged the stamps to this panel, then picked the stamps with the door of the Misti. I treated the inked panel with an anti-static powder. I inked the images with Versamark ink, then stamped the images to the inked panel. I poured white embossing powder to the inked images, then heat set it. I repeated the process until I filled up the panel with embossed images. 

The stamp set includes small stamps which I used to fill the open spaces of the inked panel. 

I flicked some shimmer liquid to the panel. Oxide inks react with water. Without drying the water droplets, I patted this with a dry paper towel. 

I die cut the blended panel using a stitched rectangle die to make this into a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" panel.

The sentiment is from the stamp set. I heat embossed this on black cardstock using white embossing powder. I die cut this into a sentiment strip. For the main sentiment,  I die cut the letters on black cardstock. I die cut this twice, then adhered it on top of each other for some dimension. I used a T-ruler as a guide in adhering the letters straight. The letter dies I used are from Lawn Fawn.

I adhered another strip of black cardstock on the back of the sentiment strip for dimension. I adhered this to the top of the letter die cuts.

I lightly inked the edges of the blended panel with Tim Holtz Black Soot ink. 

I added shimmer to the letters using a clear shimmer pen.

I hope you like today's card. Thank you for visiting my blog. Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

I am sharing this creation at

Doodlebug Design FB WCMD Challenge

Doodlebug Design FB WCMD Challenge

A Doodlebug WCMD Card

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. Belated World Card Making Day! WCMD is celebrated every first Saturday of October. I look forward to it every year because of the card making challenges held by blogs and/or crafting companies. The Doodlebug challenges are a favorite of mine. This is a great way to use my stash of Doodlebug products.

I am using patterned papers from Sugar Shoppe and Christmas Town. Who says you only need to use Christmas products for Christmas only? The B side of the Christmas Town paper is full of red hearts making it convenient to use on other occasions. I inked the edges of these patterned papers with coordinating color inks. I spritz and flicked blue Mica spray to the blue patterned paper panel for a bit of shimmer.

I am following a sketch, as seen below. I added a pink strip of cardstock to follow this sketch. I added a stitch detail to this strip using a retired Trinity Stamps die.

For the other elements of the sketch, I used the Sweet Stamps and Happy Mail washi tapes. The Sweet Stamps washi tape has perforations which you can tear making it look like a real stamp. I love it! I also love washi tapes with sentiments on it, just like the Happy Mail washi tape. You can substitute this for a stamped sentiment on a card any time. Not to forget, these washi tapes have the cute Doodlebug icons and fonts on it. Love it!

Washi tapes have a bit of transparency to it. I trimmed a scrap cardstock, smaller than the stamps, and adhere the stamp washi tape to it. I added a bit of liquid adhesive where needed to prevent the washi tape from peeling off. I adhered this to the patterned paper panel following the sketch. I stamped the wavy cancellation lines over some of the washi stamps using a Ranger Archival Black ink. I used the Misti Stamping Tool to stamp this lines just in case I need to re-stamp this since the stamp has a bit of dimension. 

I trimmed the Happy Mail washi tape to make it slimmer. Before adhering it to the patterned paper panel, I stamped a circular imprint and a subsentiment to the panel. I adhered the Happy Mail sentiment which has a two layers of cardstock underneath it for a bit of dimension.

I hope you like today's card. Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

I am sharing this creation at

Doodlebug Design FB WCMD Challenge

Doodlebug Design FB WCMD Challenge