I have a house full of teenagers. Our once little, bouncy, bundles are now lanky, food devouring, too cool for anything, teenage boys. While there are aspects of having teenagers that I enjoy (like extra drivers to run errands for mom), one of the more frustrating aspects of having teenagers is learning to maneuver between the more grown up kid and the cherished childhood traditions. This is what led me to creating the Gift Card Egg.
Creating the Gift Card Egg
Last year, I toyed with the idea of ditching the baskets and going with something else all together, but when I mentioned it, my teenagers all surprisingly shot it down. When they were little, I would fill their baskets with pool or bath toys, crayons, sidewalk chalk, Hot Wheels, and a few pieces of candy, but teenage “toys” are much more expensive. You can only do earbuds so many times before it gets boring. So what else could I do? Then I remembered gift cards!
Teenagers LOVE gift cards and you can get them for almost anywhere – movie theaters, restaurants, Xbox online, Starbucks, even Amazon. Its a great way to give them a treat while allowing them some control over what they get.
Gift cards are the same size as a credit card which makes them impossible to put in a standard Easter Egg. I had to get creative on how to make them fit into an Easter theme. I played around with a few ideas before I came up with the Gift Card Egg!
Can Do How To
I used my Cricut to cut out an “etched” paper egg, and a solid paper egg of the same size (6″ wide x 7.557″ high). The etched design allows the receiver to see a peek of what’s inside without completely giving it away.
Using hot glue (glue sticks aren’t strong enough and white glue makes the paper ripple), run a thin strip of glue around the edge of the solid egg, staying as close to the edge as possible (it helps to put a piece of scrap paper underneath to catch any glue that gets off the paper egg).
Place the gift card in the center and cover with the etched egg. Press around the edges to seal the glue and allow to dry.
Customizable
You can customize the eggs by using different colored papers, or patterns. My boys had fun “cracking” their eggs by tearing them open to reveal the gift inside. It’s a fun way to bring a little Easter whimsy to a more teenage friendly gift. A Gift Card Egg can be easily mailed too!
If you have a Cricut, use the link below to open my Etched Egg in your Cricut Design Center.
https://design.cricut.com/#/design/138646530
For all other machines, you can use this photo file.
