Find Out How to Make a 3D School Bus Gift Card Holder for Back-To-School or Teacher Appreciation With This Step-By-Step Cricut Tutorial, Video, and Free SVG File Template.
Ready to start your school year off, right? Or looking for a thoughtful teacher appreciation gift for the end of school? Your teacher is sure to love this handmade school bus gift card holder!
This school bus is one of four Back to School gift card holder SVG designs. This collection includes a Crayon Box, Apple, Backpack, and a School Bus.
This unique School Bus Gift Card Holder design measures 6.5" across and hides the gift card in a pocket inside the bus and is revealed when the recipient pulls the tab on the back of the bus.
What Type of Paper Should I Use?
I used 80lbs cardstock because it’s a heavier stock that makes a great card base. However, it is harder to fold, so I recommend using a single scoring wheel. The scoring wheels (double and single) make deep indents on your stock, making it easier to fold.
For the detailed pieces (wheel cut-outs, stop sign, and stripe), I used 65lbs cardstock because it's lightweight and you don't necessarily need a heavier cardstock for detailed or accent pieces.
How Much Paper Do I Need?
School Bus Black Base: 1 Piece of 12 x 12" Cardstock or 2 8.5 x 11" Cardstock
Yellow Bus Piece: 1 Piece of 12 x 12" Cardstock or 1 8.5 x 11" Cardstock
Pocket: 1 Piece of 12 x 12" Cardstock or 1 8.5 x 11" Cardstock
Details (black stripe piece, white octagon piece, red STOP piece, grey circle pieces): 1 Piece of 12 x 12" Cardstock or 1 8.5 x 11" Cardstock
Table of Contents
Materials Needed:
- Cricut Maker, Cricut Explore, or Other Cutting Machine
- StandardGrip Mat
- Cardstock 65-80 lbs
- Fine-Point Blade
- Bearly Art Craft Glue (Use code SRP10 to save 10%)
- Scoring Wheel Tip & Housing or Scoring Stylus
- Craft Clips
Download the Free Bus SVG File Design Here
Upload SVG File
Download the SVG file to your computer, create a New Project, and Upload it to your Canvas.
In Design Space change the line on the black bus piece to a score line and attach it to the black bus piece. Then, change the three lines on the black pocket piece to score lines and attach them to the pocket piece.
You can change these lines into score lines by going into the top left corner. Then, click on the dropdown menu where it says Basic Cut, select Scoreline, and attach to their respective pieces in the right-hand menu.
Step One: Cut Out School Bus Pieces
The Gift Card Design Consists of:
- 1 School Bus Base
- 1 School Bus with Window Cut-Outs
- 1 Pocket Piece
- 2 Octagon Pieces (one with STOP and one without)
- 1 Stripe Piece
- 4 Circle Wheel pieces (two solid circles, two outlines)
To begin, load your mat with cardstock and place it in the Cricut machine, and cut out all pieces making sure to switch between your scoring wheel and fine-point blade.
Step Two: Fold Score Lines
After the pieces have been cut, fold the three tabs on the pocket piece inward, and then fold the bus piece along the score line the way you would fold a card.
Step Three: Assemble Bus
To assemble the bus, grab your bus pieces and face the front of the bus toward your left. Then, glue the yellow bus piece to the black bus piece.
Step Four: Add Details
Now, we're going to add the details.
Take the black stripe piece and add it to the front of the bus aligning it with the angle.
Next, assemble the stop sign by gluing the red octagon STOP piece on top of the white octagon piece, then place it below the first window.
Lastly, add the grey circle pieces to each tire. Place the solid circle in the center of the tire and then, place the outline cut-out to the outside of the solid circle.
Step Five: Add Pocket
After adding the details, it's time to add the pocket. Turn the bus over so the front of the bus is facing toward your right.
Add glue to the three tabs of the pocket piece and glue it to the inside of the bus.
Make sure to position the pocket piece so the gift card fits and you're able to glue the three open edges of the school bus together.
Step Six: Glue together
Once the pocket for the gift card is placed, add glue to the three open edges of the school bus I mentioned earlier and glue them together.
Finished Result
Once you're finished gluing the pieces together, you've finished a unique school bus card holder! Check out the other gift card holders if you want more unique back-to-school gift designs.
Join my crafting and sewing Facebook group where you can show us what you’re making, ask questions, and learn from others!
Looking for more back to school and teacher appreciation projects? Click HERE!
Don’t want to forget about this free template? Save this project for later! Click here to save this project on Pinterest.
I so loved this - used it for our two bus drivers and super cute! Thank you much!