by Carolee Jones

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SUPPLIES:

• 20 sheets of heavy cardstock. (White or a light color will give you the best results)
• Printer (I used my Epson Stylus C80)
• Coil binding machine and a ¾ inch coil to bind the pages together with.
• 2* 8 ½ “x 11” Avery Laminating sheets for the front and back covers of organizer.
• Images from “Flakes for Every Season”(February Hug Club set),
  and “Behind the Scenes” for backgrounds by Carolee Jones.

* Optional* Cards printed and envelopes for each pocket are optional to give as are the tags and address labels. (All designs were used from “Flakes for Every Season” (February's Club) and “Behind the Scenes” (Coming February 5th) for the backgrounds. The calendar pockets can have any calendar design you wish. The one I used was offered online for free.

* *A few of the images for the monthly project are made available as a free download each month. The remaining images are available for purchase through the pcHugClub or as a Creatable download.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Start by designing the front and back cover, 8½” x 11” in size. Be sure to set up your printer to ‘center image’ and ‘fit to page’, this way all images will be as big as the available size will allow on your printer. Cut off the right side next to the design from top to bottom on the front cover and from left to right on the top of the design, leaving the left and bottom uncut. Trim the bottom right corner off to an angle and fold behind the front cover, this now becomes the bottom tab for the calendar pocket of the first month.
2. For the back cover, cut off the left side next to the design from top to bottom, and from left to right on the top of the design leaving the right and bottom uncut. Trim the bottom left corner off to an angle and fold behind the cover. This now becomes the bottom tab for the address pocket and last page. Laminate the front cover and the back cover pages ONLY on the printed side.
3. Design the calendar pockets, two per 8 ½ “ x 11” page, stacked one on top of each other and again print them out with the same set up as the front and back covers, using ‘center image’ and ‘fit to page’ in your printer set up prior to printing. I used color coordinated background images from “Behind the Scenes” creatable and then layered a calendar so the background became a frame around it. Design the ‘Address’ pocket and ‘Stamps & Stickers’ pocket the same way and same size.
4. Cut off from left to right along the top and bottom of each pocket design and leave sides as tabs to fold back and attach to full note page. Remember to trim the top corners at an angle to make a smoother insert for cards and envelopes into the pockets.
5. Design the note pages with coordinating backgrounds and images of the calendar pockets. Then print the full 8 ½” x 11” note pages with the same set up on your printer to ‘center image’ and ‘print to fit’, and cut off top and right sides leaving left and bottom untrimmed. Fold behind the bottom for tab the same way you did for the front and back covers. Now you are ready to assemble the Gift Card Organizer.
6. Glue pocket tabs to back of note pages, at the same time glue folded bottom tabs of note pages to back of pocket. Do this with each month page and subsequent ‘Stamps & Stickers’, and ‘Address’ pockets to complete Gift Card Organizer booklet.
7. Before binding, line up all the pages to the right and trim off the left sides so that there is a remaining 1/4th inch border. Then punch holes for binding and use a large ½” coil to bind all the pages together.

*Optional* you can create cards and envelopes using the coordinating images from “Flakes for Every Season”, and “Behind the Scenes” to include in each month’s pocket, write down important gift card giving days on the calendar and on the note pages, then you will be prepared to remember every special event that requires a card!

Click Here for All Pictures.

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