Something New

I got this bug up my patootie that I need to offer money holders. This all came about when I sold a card to a guy who held up a dollar bill to see if it would fit without folding, and it won't. Maybe in a 5x7 card, but not in a A2. Boo. So, yeah, the wheels started turning.

Last night I made this:

I started with a piece of real paper money and played. I made several templates out of printer paper until I got it right. Once I figured out the dimensions*, I grabbed a piece of miscellaneous textured card stock and sliced and diced to make that handsome blue thing above.

Here's the inside:

The notch was punched with the Wide Oval punch before I stuck it down. It's as wide as it is to allow for a strip of red-line tape on either side of the pocket to hold it closed. I've seen versions with a loose pocket and the corners cut down, but what if it's a check instead of cash? Nah, I like it closed.

Next time I may play with it a little and make the pocket a little less tall. Or not, we'll see.

Those two shiny things are the two halves of a BG magnet closure from a pack I had to first find, then break into. I don't know why it's required that we have amazing upper-body strength to break into craft supplies. Seriously, people, lighten up.

Today I looked for envelopes to fit this beast. Not. This is apparently a non-standard size. I CRY FOUL! Fortunately, I found this tutorial on the Interwebz on how to make any size envelope in 3 minutes. Uh-huh. It's always more difficult than it looks, right? But hey, it was worth a try.

So tonight when I got home, even before I emptied my pockets and changed into my jammies, I went into the Captain's Quarters, grabbed a miscellaneous piece of 12x12 paper, and set to work. Within the advertised 3 minutes (not counting the search for the paper) I had made this**:

Okay, 5 minutes if you count adding the tape. This is what it looks like on the inside:

Please ignore the little cut in the flap. I slipped. ;/ I put a piece of Scor-Tape on the flap so sealing this baby will be easy.

I think this has promise! And not only will I use up my miscellaneous textured card stock, I'll also use up some miscellaneous 12x12 paper for the envelopes. Go, me! I think maybe I'll make some from wedding-ish papers, too. :)

That's it! I need to go make some more of these and also work on my Jingle Belles card for the week.

Thanks for stopping by!

* Measurements for the folder:
7" x 8 1/2" (isn't that convenient?!)
score along the long edge at 3" and 6", leaving a 2 1/2" flap

** Measurements for the envelope:
First, according to the USPS First Class rules, I knew this had to be a minimum of 3 1/2 " tall, so that's what drove that detail.
My envelope came out at 7 1/2" x 3/3/4"