I love giving and recieving cards, and putting them on display for a bit. But then there's always the struggle of what to do with them: keep or toss? This past year my husband and I found ourselves with a heap of greeting cards that we just couldn't bear to part with. But we also don't know what to do with them in our small home with scant storage space. After a little digging, we came up with some good ideas that will work for our sentimental selves:
1 Scan or Photograph: Keep digital copies of important cards. File them by year, occasion, or filtered in your digital photo album.
2 Turn into A Book: Send your greetings to Cards for Keeps and they'll transform them into a bound book. If you're feeling crafty, you can try doing this yourself by following the blog Something Turquoise's DIY tutorial.
3 Reuse: I love well designed greeting cards. So much thought has gone into the design, so why not turn it into something else? As long as you're okay with losing the greeting part of the card, you could frame it, cut it up and use it for another project, make it into a gift tag, etc. The options are endless!
4 Turn into A New Card: Much in the same vein as above, a card does not need to be used just once. If it's a folded card, cut it in half and use the front as a postcard.
5 Donate to a Charity: Before you toss any unwanted cards, consider donating them. St. Jude's Ranch for Children will recycle used greeting cards and turn them into new holiday and greeting cards. You can also purchase their recycled cards to support their programs and services.
(Image: Something Turquoise)
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I cut them out and use them as pseudo-matting for DIY artsiness. I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I always have a ton of unoccupied and possibly ugly/cheap looking frames, and this is a great funky way to dress them up. Not sure if this link will work publicly but here are some examples.
And just a note, a couple of those are even just cutouts of packaging that had a pretty pattern. I just kind of tape them together and stick the pretty part of a card on top, or a patch (like that owl) or a photo or just a combo of random patterns/designs. Not the most professional photo but you get the idea. Never throw out a pretty card or calendar! :)
I love making gift tags out of old Christmas cards. Even the tackiest cards usually have one charming detail that can be salvaged.
Great idea, @wozlig! I'm going to save my cards this year for just that purpose.
My Mom, and I also do this too, is take the cards from say, last Christmas, and previous Christmas's that were sent, and often will find a use for them in Christmas presents the following year.
Simply cut out the back side of a folded card, tape or glue onto your wrapped package, often works by themselves without ribbon.
It adds something nice to package, and yet is a simple way to dress up packages in an attractive manner.
Make a streamer with them instead of garland.
I throw them in a photo box and look through them once in a blue moon. It's nice to get to revisit them.
If it's a photo card of family or friends, take a photo of the picture with your cell phone, and use the holiday picture as their caller id photo for the next year. :)
Sometimes, I save very sentimental ones. Like the ones the vet sends after a pet passes away, or very touching birthday/Christmas cards. But I just usually reuse the front of the card as a postcard to send to friends the next year, with a message written on the back.
I have made gift tags with them in the past, but to be honest, aside from a few that have an actual letter inside or something very special, these go into the recycle bin with gusto!
Embracing minimalism here. I am a sentimental person, but one or 2 special memory pieces or a special letter or photo has far more meaning than a Hallmark sentiment.
I like the idea of donating to St Judes, that is a nice idea.
I transform the sentimental cards into tiny gift boxes using the front for the top & the back for the bottom. Slip a length of fishing line in before making the last fold/tuck for the top. Place the top on, then just tie the ends together for a unique Christmas ornament complete with special memories. Makes a great garland as well - tie to twine or ribbon or simply slip over the branches of artifical greenery.
Last year, I went through an enormous box of greeting cards that had belonged to my grandmother and had sat in an attic for a decade since she passed away. My mom was going to toss them, but I could tell they still meant a lot to her, so I took them. I spent a couple afternoons carefully cutting out the flowers, squirrels, mice, birds, etc from the vintage cards and decoupaged them on to a picture frame (a very large one, with screen in place of the glass for use as an earring organizer), then gave it to mom. She really loves it. It took some work, but the results were worth it. Doesn't take up a lot of space, it's useful, and a lifetime's worth of love and memories are there for her to enjoy. This might only work if the cards "match" and have discrete graphics, though.
I cut them into strips and make them into paper chains. Festive!
What a great idea! I always used to frame the prettiest cards, never thought about using them for matting. Your picture has certainly inspired me!
A blog I read turns their Christmas cards into little books every year, much like Something Turquoise did. They two hole punch each card and bind them with loose rings. They also made a cute cover little cover so you know which year you are looking at! Here's the link:
http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-card-books.html
I occasionally write or print a recipe on the back of a card.
ginnielizz, those look great!
Other craft options besides gift tags: tree ornaments, bookmarks, scrapbook page decorations, gift box trims (I cover logos when I reuse a box).
I have a few large craft paper punches in useful shapes. I use the large oval to punch decorative paper or cards to make a design to cover the logos on some scavanged (unused) boxes meant for chocolates. You can cut multiples of any symmetrical shape (circles for example), fold them in half, and glue them flap-to-flap (with 3 or more units) to make 3-D ornaments. Bookmarks can be strips from any sturdy card as is or mounted with a border of another color or even on wide ribbon.
I give only a few hand made cards every year, and I tend to make them so they have a component that can be removed and saved to hang on a tree. (The rest can be scrapped.)
I GOT a hand painted watercolor card, once, that was a pretty winter scene, and I framed that one.
Mostly, though, I get commercial and frankly boring boxed cards that hit the recycling bin on December 26.
nice!
You could make a Christmas card wreath, and use clothes pins to hold the Christmas cards. I found this idea on google.
I'm with @vintagebirthday. I use them and postcards as recipe cards.