Altered Business Card Holder

Hello everyone! This is my first post as an Educator for Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts! I will be sharing a tutorial twice a month on the second and fourth Tuesdays! Visit the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Blog HERE! 

I am actually on vacation at Disney World Orlando with my family right now! We have been planning a family trip since 2013, and we finally settled on a location and found a time when we could all attend. My kids (ages 24, 20, 15) are all along on the adventure, which is such a blessing! I am missing the CHA show this week, but some of my projects are there. I hope to share those with you soon! For now...enjoy my tutorial.

I created a fun business card holder for my desk. I have been wanting something to hold my cards, as they are normally scattered about in a drawer. Now, I have a steampunk-y card holder for them!

I used the GSL Business Card Holder, which measures approximately 4" x 3" x 2 1/2". Business cards fit perfectly inside! I decided to decorate my holder with grungy paper containing maps, license plates, and other signage. I added some of my favorite embellishments: gears, Scrabble tiles, and flowers!

Use a damp baby wipe to dust your business card holder pieces before decorating. Due to the cutting process, the pieces may have some dust or "soot" on them. I decided against painting the pieces, since the kraft color of the chipboard was perfect for the look I wanted. Use a gel medium to attach your paper to each piece.

Spread a thin layer of gel medium over the curved end pieces and attach paper to one side. Use a craft knife to remove the paper from the notches in the pieces. Cover the other side with coordinating paper, and again cut the paper away from the notches..

Trim two pieces of paper to 3 3/4" x 1 1/2, two pieces to 3 3/4" x 1 3/4," and two pieces to 3 3/4" x 1".  Use the gel medium to attach the paper to the chipboard pieces. Sand the edges so smooth any rough spots.

Assemble the business card holder by fitting the tab pieces into the notches. Use Glossy Accents to adhere the pieces together. Allow the glue to dry. If desired, sponge the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Gather your chipboard elements that you wish to alter with embossing powder. I always do a large batch of items at once to save time. I only used the gears from the Steampunk Lightbulb Set and flourishes from the Parisian Shape Set from this batch. I used the rest of the items for another project. 

Sponge the surface of each chipboard embellishment with watermark ink. Sprinkle the items with various metallic and distress embossing powders. Heat to finish.

Glue the embellishments to the front and side of the business card holder.  

I accented each gear with a mini brad, then added some flowers and a "G" Scrabble tile to the front of the business card holder. I altered the flowers with some ink to make them a bit more grungy.

I added the large flourish (covered with Ranger Black Soot Distress Powder) to the side of the holder. I used a large, map brad for the center of the gear. 

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial. Visit the Gypsy Soul Blog for more inspiration!

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Products:

Business Card Holder (coming soon)

Steampunk Lightbulb Set 

Parisian Shape Set

Other Products:

Paper: 7gypsies Gypsy Moments, American Vintage (8" x 8" pads)

Ink: Top Boss Watermark, Ranger Distress Vintage Photo

Embossing powder: Tim Holtz Distress Black Soot, Vintage Photo; Stampendous Aged Bronze; Enchanted Cottage Malachite; Hampton Art various metallic

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

Scrabble tile: stash

Brads: Creative Impressions, K & Co (map)

Adhesive: Liquitex Matt GEL, Ranger Glossy Accents, hot glue