business card holders

Last night's football game was horrible, but at least I got some handwork finished, including four Christmas presents. 

A few years ago, my mother passed along to me a copy paper box stuffed full of raw silk remnants in every color imaginable.  I used them to whip up a few of these business card holders as Christmas gifts in 2009.  It was time to make some more this year.

I can't remember who made the pattern but I bought it in a quilt shop and made some cardboard templates that make it easy for me to cut and piece en masse.  While not a lot of people carry around business cards all the time anymore (although that's my Honey's card peeking out of the one in the top right), I thought it would also be perfect for all those "reward punch cards" we get at quilt stores or lunch places that are bulging in my own wallet.  Everyone nowadays wants to give you some kind of loyalty card but if it doesn't fit on the keyring, what do you do with it?  This is the perfect place to keep them.
I made two for my Honey's sisters - their mother passed away last year and that embroidered slate blue silk on the bottom left came from her stash; the other is the open one and also has the embroidered silk on the outside.  The other two go to colleagues.  The grey one has a bright yellow middle pocket and the other is in Virginia Tech colors - burgundy and orange - and both have a pretty little thing sewn on the outside for visual interest, a finding from the jewelry aisle at Jo-Ann's.

I might slip a gift card into each one of them before presenting.  I'm not quite sure yet.  But at least these are four gifts to be checked off the list.