Holly Jolly Greeting Purse Tutorial

Today I have the tutorial for the card-holder purse and details of card set that I created for the Stampin' Addicts Winter Blog Hop.   All of my projects featured alternatives ideas for the Holly Jolly Greetings Simply Sent Kit.   Click back through the last few days of my blog posts to see the details of those project too!

This purse is made by cutting apart one of the fold-up cards in the kit.  The extra heavy cards are the perfect weight to make this sturdy and able to hold at least six cards and envelopes.  I was going to decorate this more but decided I really liked the simple, classic look of just the Frosted Finishes Embellishment and the Merry Christmas label.  I did add a bow diecut with Gift Bow Bigz die on the handle.

I decided to make a series of one layer cards to complement the classic look of the purse using the happy images from the Snow Day stamp set.

The first card is pretty straight-forward.

All the snowmen in the card set are stamped with Smoky Slate ink. To achieve the correct color, stamp off once on scrap paper then on the card front.  His hat, scarf and the words are stamped with Real Red ink and his face, arms and buttons with Stazon-On Jet Black.

For the second card, I inked just a portion of the words and stamped them to the side.  The small images are stamped with Soft Sky, Real Red and So Saffron, punched out and popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals.

The next card has a snowman peeking out of a window that is diecut with the Peekaboo Frames Big Shot die.

I cut the pieces out and used Stampin' Dimensionals behind his head and the words.

I think the last card is my favorite.

It has such a happy feel.  I purposely have some of the hats not touching the snowmens heads to add a feeling of movement and energy.

The back of the purse has a place to write To/From.

The purse can be used for occasions other than Christmas by covering the back with another piece of cardstock.  I have a couple of these I would like to make with other themes.  (We will see if I have time to actually do them.... so many ideas and not enough time!)  Now for the tutorial...

Purse Tutorial:
1.  Cut a card from the Holly Greetings Simply Sent Kit apart on the fold line.

2.  Use an Exacto knife to cut two 3/4" slits on the crease of the card flap.  Insert a length of Smoky Slate Chevron Ribbon and tie knots at each end.  (See picture in Step 6.)
3.  For the base, cut a 6-1/2" X 6-1/2" piece of Smoky Slate cardstock.   Score 2-1/2" from two opposite sides.

4. For the sides,  cut two 2-1/2" X 3" pieces of Smoky Slate cardstock.  Score at 1/2" on three sides.  Cut out the small squares at the corners.

5.  Adhere the short tabs of the side pieces to the base as shown.

6.  Fold on all score lines and adhere the side tabs inside to form a box.
7.  Adhere the box to the purse back.  Pinch the top of the box together, indent the side pieces and crease.  This "trains" the sides to be indented when the purse is closed.

8.  Adhere the remaining card piece to front of the box.  Add circle magnets to close.  Decorate front with Frosted Finishes Embellishment and sticker from the kit.

Inside view with four cards and envelopes (still room for more!):

Note:  If you happen to have the retired Scalloped Bag Big Shot die it will work perfectly for the side pieces.  Cut each side piece down to 2-1/2" and use a 6-5/8" X 6-5/8" square in Step 3 for the base.

I do appreciate every comment left!  Happy stamping!!