How to Matchbook Gift Card Holders

A matchbook album is a type of miniature scrapbook that is shaped like a matchbook. One benefit to creating matchbook albums is that it is a low-cost project. The supplies are limited, and they are fast to make.

There are many uses for matchbook albums. It can be made to house scrapbook pages. It can be made for use as a notepad. It can even be used as a gift card holder. In this example we will make a matchbook album with pages.

How do I make a matchbook album?

1. Decide on what the purpose of the album is for.

2. Gather your materials. In this example we will make a matchbook album with pages. You will need one piece of plain cardstock 12" long x 4.25" wide (this is for the album), one piece of patterned paper 5.25" long x 4.25 wide (this is for the outside cover), and four pieces of cardstock 5.5" long x 4.25 wide (these are for the pages), two eyelets (or brads or a stapler), an exacto knife and scissors.

3. Take the 12" long cardstock and lay it lengthwise in front of you. One inch from the left side score a line all the way across. Do the same at 6.5" and 6.75". Fold the pages in so it will have the matchbook album shape.

4. Take your piece of patterned paper, tape or glue it to the front of your album.

5. Take your four pieces of cardstock and place them under the 1" flap making sure it is flush against the bottom. Now you need to make a decision. Do you want to use eyelets, staples, or brads? In this example we will just use a staple.

6. Staple the 1 inch flap. This will secure the pages inside the matchbook. If you insert the top flap into the bottom flap you will have a matchbook album. Now decorate the pages and add some photos.

A matchbook album can be any size you wish. Simply modify the sizes in these instructions to match your individual needs.

If you want to change things up you can instead make this into a gift card holder. By doing this you simply will need to place a gift card inside the matchbook (in place of the pages) and measure how far from the end it is. From here, you will set a pair of eyelets or brads to anchor the bottom flap.