Who doesn’t love getting Christmas cards?
I love keeping in touch with people and seeing how big their kids have gotten and what they’ve been up to over the past year. Many send photo Christmas cards (we do) but many send a beautiful card that they sign… but no note, no photos.
I save all of the photo cards we get over the years and I have great aspirations to one day get them into a Christmas Album. (Maybe someday I will do this.) However, those gorgeous cards with just a signature can be enjoyed a second year with just a little time and a pair of scissors.
Turn these….
Into these…
For example, I thought this little card was beautiful.
It would be a shame to not do something else with it… so I cut off the front part of the card. Then I took my Cricut and some coordinating card-stock and cut out a tag shape that was slightly bigger than the Santa card.
Bit of a TANGENT:
When something has a an imperfection that I can’t easily fix, I embrace the imperfection and just make it bigger. Sort of like PeeWee Herman. “I meant to do that.”
In this case, the cutting blade on my Cricut needs to be replaced, so some of the paper tore a bit on the edges. No problem… I have a nail file. I meant to do that. If something is ripped or torn or smudged… rip it, tear it or smudge it even more. Make it part of your design.
I adhered the Santa card to the tag and added a ribbon.
Pretty, right? Free, unique, kinda green since I recycled it… those are good things.
If you don’t have an electronic cutting tool, simple shapes cut with scissors or exacto knife work just fine. You can also get pre-cut letters and embellishments in the scrap-book section at your local craft store.
I cut out this Santa with an exacto knife and adhered it to a card-stock tag.
For this one I cut the Christmas card into an oval shape… cut another, slightly larger oval out of card-stock… add letters and a ribbon.
There is no right or wrong, just cut them up and recreate something. The ones I’ve done here are super simple, but you can always add embellishments like glitter, ribbon, rhinestones or beads…
Not feeling the Christmas right now? I get it, you want to just pack it all up and move forward? (I’m feeling the same way…) No problem.
Cut the images you want to keep, or even toss whole cards into a bag and pack it into the bin where you store your Christmas wrap or decorations (or whatever) so that when you unpack your decor next season you are ready to make some fun tags.
Happy crafting!
Awesome repurpose! Thanks for sharing! 8^)
Great idea….but I just threw all of my cards out yesterday.
Love it! I’ve done a little of this before, but not in recent years. I have a nice stack of cards to put away for a project on a cold, winter day. Thank you for sharing! Your tags are so pretty!
What a fantastic Idea, I am going to save mind for next year.
I will save mine just for this purpose. Thanks. Enjoy your blog so much.
Jacque
Super cute! Guess what. I got ONE card this year that wasn’t a photo card. LOL!!!
Thanks for the reminder, Vivian!
Great share! I already do this every year and I’m happy you are getting the word out for others to do this as well. 🙂
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Love this idea but I have to say I’m sad to hear people throw their cards away after Christmas. I did not know this. I always save mine just because I think its mean to toss them (granted I receive 5 cards at most), but I made my own cards this year and I spent a lot of time on them. I’m really sad to think that those on the receiving end just threw them away. 🙁 Making me wonder whether I should even bother next year? Just wasted effort and paper. What a bummer. 🙁
I have boxes full of cards and do this with them. Great idea to cut them up now and ready to go for some quick crafting next Christmas.
My best- Diane
If I wasn’t so anal about all of my paper and tags making I might do this. Actually I did that once and I really liked it but my OCD kicked in overdrive….I haven’t been the same since.
I love this idea! I m always looking for a way to upcycle!
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Hugs,
bj
Wow! What a great idea! Unfortunately, I threw out all my cards out few days ago… I will definitely do it next Christmas! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve always hated pitching those cards, I’m going to look at them with new eyes now 🙂
What a fantastic idea, I’ve even got a wall full of cards still. I can’t bring myself to take them down yet, espeically since oddly enough they keep coming in the mail.
GREAT IDEA! love the santa tag
Great idea and such beautiful tags!!
Hugs
SueAnn
I just gathered all of my cards from years past and knew I would come across an idea to recycle! Thank you so much
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Brilliant – as usual! And I just spilled my bowl of cereal all over myself and my couch while trying to type this comment. NOT brilliant!
Great upcycling idea.
Your tags came out great! A great way to upcycle. Thanks for sharing, Laura
Supercool idea…thanks for showing how you did them. Very nicely done!
Arrived via TCB…cheers!
I’ve been saving some of the really pretty Christmas cards, too, Vivienne. I have been wanting to do this, but since we moved this year, I didn’t find my wrap and things until late. So I’ll add the few from this year to the group and hope to do the tags next year. Yours turned out great! I really love the first one.
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