It's All About the Presentation

My friend, Jim, and I have a saying: "It's all about the presentation." Sure, the gift is pretty special, too...but how you present it is just as important. At least if you're crafty. If you're crafty, then you know you can't leave anything Plain Jane. And that is true for me. Even if I'm giving a gift card. I hate, hate, hate just slipping the gift card into the birthday card and leaving it at that. Instead, I like to put the card into some kind of bag, box or gift card holder that I've made. Or how about a tin? I bought this hinged tin from Papertrey Ink and it is the perfect size to hold a gift card (it's the same shape as an Altoid tin) . I altered the top with paper and used a few punches embellish. I broke away from some of my favorite colors and did a different combination here. The patterned paper is glittered, too. One note about the scallop. I punched out three of them and glued them together so that it would appear more substantial on the tin. Here's a close up:

Now, when it comes time to give this gift, I had two thoughts on how I could present it. The first idea was to put the tin inside of a cellophane bag. I mostly wanted to do that so I could use some coordinating ribbon that just so happened to go perfectly with the paper I was using (love it when that happens...love coordination). I also liked the idea of adding the tag. Not to mention, with this look, the person you are giving this to will never guess it's a gift card inside!

For the tag, I used the scallop punch to make a frame, just as I did in an earlier post. Here's a close up of the tag:

Now, having said all that, I think I may like it without the bag just as much. Because I liked using the same tag, but in a different way:

See what I mean? It's a gift within a gift, with a little card inside (the tag). Decisions, decisions. By the way, because I am a little nutsy, I made my own shreds out of the same paper I used on the cover of the tin (again...coordination!). It's another unexpected touch, but it also makes getting the card out of the tin a little easier!

P.S. Give a gift to yourself...subscribe to my blog! It's free, and you'll get automatic updates emailed to you! To subscribe, look up top for the envelope, in the right-hand column...

Supplies:

Stamps: Birthday Basics by PTI
Ink: Chestnut Roan Chalk by ColorBox
Patterned Paper: Kraft White Mini Dot by Making Memories, Posies Glitter Print by Die Cuts With a View
Cardstock: Bashful Blue and Pale Plum by SU!, Stampers Select White by PTI
Ribbon: Heidi Grace
Tools: Crop-a-Dile, scallop punch, 1 1/4” and 1 3/8” punches by SU!
Other: eyelet, cellophane treat sack, hinged tin