DIY Gift Card Bear

Christmas is only a week away, and I am getting so excited! This week I will be sharing a few wrapping tutorials with you. Wrapping gifts is one of my favorite things to do during the holidays! Today I have a special wrapping treat for you, a gift card bear. I love giving gifts, and I know that a lot of people love nothing more than a gift card. And even though I love gift cards myself, when giving them I always feel that they are rather obvious when stuck in one of those little envelopes, so I decided this year to make a little bear with a pocket on it’s belly large enough to hold a gift card. I think it makes the gift giving and receiving experience even better! A gift in itself with a surprize inside!

Here’s What You Need:

*Fleece or Minky Fabric(1/4 yard)

*Fabric for the belly and ear accents(scraps)

*Embroidery Floss

*Felt

*Doll Eyes and nose

*Stuffing

*Pattern (below)

 Instructions:

First cut out all of your pieces. Now take the front of the bear and lay the felt face piece in the middle of the head area then stitch around the face. Now mark where you want the eyes and the nose. Cut small slits in the face where marked and insert the eyes and nose into the front. Then push the plastic washers onto the back of the plastic features to tighten down the nose and eyes. Draw in a mouth and use a back stitch with your embroidery floss by hand to sew the mouth.  Now, with your machine set to a small zigzag stitch, stitch down the ear accent pieces to the front ear pieces. Then, put the ear front and ear back pieces together with right sides facing and stitch around the outside leaving the bottom open for turning. Turn out the ears, pin right sides down and inwards toward the face on the front body piece and staystitch down 1/8 inch from the edge of the head. Now, take the pouch pieces right sides together and stitch the top seam. Open up turn so that wrong sides are together and press pouch, then top stitch along the top of the pouch piece. Sandwich the pouch piece between the front and back body pieces. Pin the bear all the way around, and stitch around the bear with a 1/4″ seam allowance leaving a few inches for turning at one side. Clip corners and turn right side out. Stuff your bear with fiber fill and use a ladder stitch to close up the opening. And that’s it, pretty easy right!  Now you have an adorable gift card holder!

I love this little bear gift card holder! She is really sweet and festive! This is a great way to add a little extra to your gift card gifts this year for kids or stuffed animal lovers. You can customize them however you like with different colors, textures, and patterns. They are very soft and cuddly, sure to bring a smile to the face! This bear took me about a half hour to an hour to make, and the materials I had on hand. If I had to buy the supplies I think it would still cost less than $10 to make. I hope some of you will try this one out! It’s so easy and so fun to make! Be sure to tune in tomorrow for more fun wrapping ideas and tutorials!

Happy Crafting!