A free homemade gift idea for friends and family.
If you’re looking for an affordable homemade gift idea for friends and family, these keepsake wallets are a great option. Actually, you’ve probably got all the materials you need lying around the house. They’re a great handmade gift idea that anyone can make – even kids.
What you’ll need to make a keepsake wallet
Here’s what you’ll need
- paper or cardboard or foamboard or paper bags
- hole punch
- ruler
- pencil
- glue / double sided tape
- something to bind the sheets together like ribbon, leather, lace, or twine.
- buttons or similar to make the closure.
Making the keepsake wallet.
The first step is to work out how big you want the wallet. Sometimes this is determined by the size of the cardboard you have available.
Cut your back cover which will have a flap that goes over the front. Cut your front cover. Mark the centre of each piece.
Fold your internal pieces in half.
For this project, I used A4 pieces of cardboard.
The number of internal sections you use depends on how many separate compartments you want inside. If you’re creating one for the year, you’ll need 12 – one for each month.
Mark the centre of each piece then, using your hole punch, punch two holes just above the fold at the bottom.
If you want to make it more interesting, glue some patterned paper to the front and back cover.
To personalise keepsake wallets I make for friends, I glue their kid’s art creations to the front. They love it.
Attaching the buttons for the closure.
Next, I use buttons as my closure mechanism because I’ve got a container full of them.
To keep the buttons securely in place, I stick some packing tape to the inside covers. This prevents the cotton that secures the buttons from pulling through.
After sewing the buttons in place, I add another piece of tape over the thread for extra strength. Don’t worry, you won’t see this when it’s finished.
To hide the thread on the inside, you can paste some patterned paper to the inside cover.
Thread ribbon (twine, leather or similar) to secure the pieces in place.
Then, thread your ribbon through the hole punched holes from the back to the front. If you don’t have ribbon, you can use twine or leather, whatever suits. Tie it at the front.
Affix the first and last pieces to the front and back cover.
Using double sided tape, affix your first and last concertina pieces to the inside front cover and inside back cover to hide the button holes and tidy up the back cover.
You can use glue if you don’t have double sided tape but it can make the cardboard pucker which doesn’t look as neat.
And finally, add the tie which holds it closed and keeps the contents secure so they don’t fall out. And you’re done.
This is a great way to upcycle and repurpose carboard, envelopes, even paper shopping bags. For extra safety so the keepsakes can’t fall out, I’ve repurposed old envelopes. I’ve made envelopes from paper shopping bags to create the internal compartments. I’ve used recycled cards to create the covers. One of my favourites is to use sparkly foamboard for the front and back coves.
For a friend who loves anything sustainable, I made her wallet from the cardboard of old cereal and pizza boxes.
The list is endless and only restricted by your imagination and what you’ve got lying around.
I hope I’ve inspired you to consider making these easy homemade gifts for friends and family.