How To Make No Sew Felt Christmas Gift Card Ornaments

As my children get older, it seems like gift cards are becoming more practical. These gift card ornaments allow me to give a handmade gift along with a monetary present. There’s not a week that goes by, where I’m not dropping a twenty dollar bill on my kids. I figure having some gift cards in their pockets will buy them some freedom. 🙂

How to make no sew felt ornaments with a slot for gift cards.

I haven’t met a person who doesn’t like the flexibility they bring. However, they can seem a bit impersonal. This week I put my problem solving hat on and came up with a solution. I designed these no sew felt Christmas ornaments with a slot to add a gift card. It’s like two gifts in one, and it’s handmade! Woo-hoo!

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SUPPLIES

ACRYLIC FELT
HEAT TRANSFER VINYL
BAKER’S TWINE
HEAT N BOND
GLOSSY ACCENTS OR CRAFT GLUE
CRICUT EASY PRESS OR IRON
EASY PRESS MAT
SILHOUETTE CAMEO
STRONG GRIP CUTTING MAT
ROTARY CUTTING BLADE
FABRIC SCISSORS (IF YOU DON’T OWN A CAMEO 4 OR CRICUT MAKER – USE CIRCLE PATTERN)

DOWNLOAD THE FILES

To receive instant access to my free library, just subscribe at the top sidebar or at the bottom of this post. You will be sent a welcome letter with the password to the library. Go to the library page and enter the password, then download any of the designs you would like.

How to make no sew felt christmas ornaments with a gift card holder.

There are four ornament designs, felt circle cut files and strong bond cut files to choose from. If you don’t have a cutting machine that can cut fabric, I’ve also included a PDF template for the felt circles. An image of each ornament is in the library with the corresponding name under the picture.

PERSONALIZE THEM

Since the design on these ornaments are made with heat transfer vinyl, you can personalize them in Silhouette Design Studio. While I cannot make individual files for you, I did make a couple of mock ups below. Hopefully, these will give you some ideas.

You could make these for a newly married couple and include a Home Depot or Bed, Bath and Beyond gift card. You could also make these for a baby’s 1st Christmas and include a Target gift card. I can think of so many, like teacher’s gifts, movie theater cards and dining out.

CUT YOUR FELT CIRCLES

This project went quickly using my Silhouette Cameo 4 to do all the cutting. This past fall, Silhouette came out with a new cutting machine that can cut fabric, balsa wood, chip board and other materials. If you would like more information about the Silhouette Cameo 4, I’ve written an article about it here.

Five reasons to consider the new Silhouette Cameo 4.

Excited to try it out, I decided to make this felt project. To cut the felt you will need a rotary cutting blade. For the heat transfer vinyl and the strong bond, you will need the auto-blade.

I had three different types of felt on hand and it did cut all of them well. The softer felts left a lot of fuzz on my cutting mat. I found that the acrylic felt cut the best and left the least material stuck to my mat.

It’s important to use the purple strong grip mat and then roll over your fabric with a brayer, before you cut. This will ensure the felt stays in place while the machine is cutting.

Using a Silhouette Cameo 4 to cut felt with the rotary blade.

When you bring up your file, you will be in the design menu. Click over to the Send menu and select Tool 2. Then click on your image on the left side to select it. Next, choose your material, which is Felt Acrylic. Under Action choose rotary cut, under tool, choose rotary blade. Choose Rotary Cut.

At this point your cut lines will change from red to blue and you are ready to send your project to cut. If you are downloading this project from my free library, all of the cut settings will already be set.

When your project is finished, you will have a small circle and a large circle with a cut line through it. This is the front and back of your ornament.

CUT YOUR HEAT TRANSFER VINYL

At this point, open your ornament design in Silhouette Studio. For this tutorial, I am using the Noel image. If you are using your own design, reverse your image before you send it to cut. Place the HTV on your cut mat. There are different types of HTV, so be sure to follow the instructions included with your vinyl.

Using a Silhouette Cameo 4 to cut heat transfer vinyl.

The brand that I chose has a clear carrier sheet on the back of the vinyl and a white protective film on the cut side. You will need to remove the white film before you cut your file. I always recommend doing a test cut to ensure you are cutting on the correct side of the vinyl.

Next, load your mat. In the Silhouette Studio, go to the Send menu and choose send in the bottom right corner. When it is finished cutting, unload your mat.

Then weed out the excess unwanted vinyl from your image. Use an X-Acto knive or safety pin to remove small pieces of vinyl. Set your vinyl aside for later.

PREPARE YOUR HEAT AND BOND

Cut a few sheets of Heat n Bond to 8.5 X 11 and place them on your cut mat with the glue side facing down.

Using a Silhouette Cameo 4 to cut strong bond.

Using Tool 1 and the Autoblade tool, select the copy paper cut setting. Send the Heat n Bond adhesive circles to cut.

At this point, you will have your felt circles, weeded HTV design and Heat n Bond adhesive circles cut and ready to use.

APPLY THE HEAT TRANSFER VINYL

Using your heat press or iron, press the small felt circle for 3 seconds at 305 degrees. Center your HTV image on the smaller felt circle with the sticky side facing the felt.

Place the teflon sheet (included with vinyl) on top of your design. Press the design for 15 seconds.

Using a Cricut Easy Press with heat transfer vinyl on felt.

Wait 15-30 seconds for the design to cool and then peel back the clear carrier sheet.

APPLY THE HEAT AND BOND ADHESIVE CIRCLE

Flip your smaller circle over, so the image is facing down. Line up the Heat n Bond circle so it is centered on the felt. Then press it in place for 3 seconds with your heat press. Peel the paper backing from the Heat n Bond.

Now, place your smaller circle on the larger circle with the image facing up and the Heat n Bond facing down. Ensure your large circle has the slit at the top of the ornament and your small circle image is positioned correctly. Center the small circle on the large circle.

Place your cut baker’s twine in between the felt circles at the top. Cover the project with parchment paper and press it for 8 seconds. Let it cool for a moment. Then, for extra support, pinch the felt with your fingers at the bakers twine. This just makes a tighter bond.

ADD BAKER’S TWINE EDGE

For an added embellishment, add a small line of glossy accents glue around the perimeter of the circle and press baker’s twine in place. I like the glossy accents because it has a precision tip, but other craft glue’s will work.

Just add a gift card or cash to the slot in the back of your gift card ornament.

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