Christmas Card Recycling, Part 1

It's nearly the end of January and if you haven't already, you're just about ready to take down the decorations. I know I have. I've got a collection of Christmas cards too. I can't bear to just toss them in the recycle bin, so it's time to craft.

Part 1 ("The Easy Stuff")

Paper is paper. Anything made of paper can be made from Christmas cards. Let's take a look at the old classics. You'll need scissors, a hole punch, and glue.

Gift Tags
SO EASY. Templates for interesting shapes are available all over the internet, but rectangles can be just as nice if the image is particularly pleasing and there's no reason you can't just wing it. Any card from any occasion can be made into a gift tag beautifying your gifts. Cut any shape you want and punch a hole wherever you think it should be. Here's a great site for templates and envelopes.

Post Cards
This one is a no brainer. Cut off the back page of your cards and use the front as a post card. (And post cards are quite a bit cheaper to send than regular cards, so next Christmas you'll not only save coin on the stationary itself, but the delivery fee as well) Just be careful that if the front has words on it, that they are complete thoughts, or at least complete the thought when you write your note.

Bookmarks
A little more body and a lot prettier than that ripped piece of notebook paper. You could just cut a strip, or you could cut shapes, punch holes, add tassels, glue bits onto other bits, weave, sew, and tear. A bookmark really can be made into a work of art with a little creative thinking. As you can see from the picture, elements from your cards are readily adaptable to the slit style bookmark because the paper is just a bit stiffer. Simply cut a right angle and slide it onto the corner of the page! You could also cut curves or shaped outlines and fit the bookmarks over the edges of the page rather than the corners.

Recipe cards
Same as postcards but cut to index card size. This would be an excellent project if you have a repertoire of recipes that you really only use around the holidays. Print your recipes by hand directly onto the cards or print them on your computer and paste them onto the cards. Maybe you could add envelopes to your scrapbook and keep the recipe card there to remember the look on your mother's face when she realized your cookies were better than hers.



Next time...Part 2 ("Some assembly required")