Christmas Card Recycling, Meta Stuff

I've done some research on ways to display/reuse your old Christmas cards, unless you have a holiday tradition of losing them/feeling guilty about losing them/finding them and putting them in a box you'll never, ever be able to locate again. (Or maybe that's just me.)

First up: Wreath Made of Cards!

I didn't have twenty cards lying around (see above tradition), so I cut up some construction paper and folded it and we'll all have to pretend these are cute holiday cards with snow and trees and kittens. Also, I did this in my studio, and my work bench is old and beat up, so forgive the surroundings.

The "cards":















Use the power of imagination! Can't you just see the sparkly reindeer?

For this you'll need roughly twenty cards, and it might be fun to use contrasting colors, or use all cards of a similar color, or use a theme such as all snowman cards, etc. You're only limited by the cards you've been hoarding (or losing).

First you'll need to draw a two inch by four inch rectangle on the back of a card and cut it out (my fake cards are small so my rectangle is also small).















Also, you may notice my work in these photos is a bit "relaxed" or "sloppy." Don't judge me; I'm still recovering from an obscene amount of mashed potato consumption. In the art world, this is what we call a mock-up, which is handy little term to say "this one is just a quick practice, please ignore all the crappy mistakes."

Anyway, cut out the rectangle with scissors or an Exacto knife, whatever you have that lets you cut out rectangles.



















Then trace the rectangle on the fronts of the rest of the cards and cut them out. Use that first rectangle as a template so you don't have to remeasure.















Now arrange them into a round shape, by putting the corner of each card into the rectangle of the previous card. Like so (bonus--awkward hand!):















Take this time to check out the circle, and rearrange the cards how you want them. If you want to move the reindeer card away from the snowman card because they don't look as if they are getting along, do it now.

















Then, glue the edges of the cards together. I used my disgusting old hot glue gun because it was closest, but I recommend other (safer) methods as well. Any old glue should work.















Keep on gluing:















When you're done, and the glue is dry, flip over your wreath and glue down any parts that seem flimsy or floppy.















Finally, take a piece of ribbon or yarn or string and use it to make a hanger. You could punch a hole, or just glue it on, depending on the glue you use.














And there it is! A Christmas card wreath! Or, in my case, a sort of messy construction paper wreath! This is why I love the term "mock-up." To fancy it up, you could add a bow to the front, but it's not necessary. Just imagine these are cute Christmas cards, okay?




















Okay, the next one I found was how to make neat little gift boxes out of cards. Good for jewelry, gift cards, etc.

I dug around and found a little note card, so the mock-up wouldn't be quite as lame as construction paper. First you cut the card's front off:















The back half of the card you will use for the bottom of the box. So take it and cut 1/8 of an inch off one short and one long side. (So it will fit easily when you close the box.) Just use a ruler and draw two little marks at the 1/8 inch mark on each side, draw a line between them, and cut.


















See? Connect the dots, then slice away.















After that, put aside the back half. Take the front half of the card, flip it over to the blank side, and mark off 1 inch and 1/2 inch from each side.















Connect the dots!













Okay, now take the BACK of the blade of your exacto, or a pizza cutter, or something else thin and sort of sharp/sort of dull. Trace the lines (against a ruler) with it, so that you sort of score the lines to make folding more easy. You could also use a ball point pen and press down hard.

I didn't take a picture of that step, because I am one of those people who can just look at a butter knife and get a cut, so I tried to be careful and not multitask. You understand.

After you score, cut to the one inch mark, from the short side, on each edge, so you have little flaps.















Then fold the long sides on each of the lines.






























Press the sides down:















Push in the flaps:
















Fold in the flaps toward each other, then fold the short sides down over them. I had to use a bit of glue to keep it in place properly, but I hadn't been super careful with my measuring/drawing/folding. It might be easier if you are more precise--otherwise, the glue helps hold it all in place.

And then, you have a lid!
















Just repeat on your slightly smaller piece to make the bottom. And you have a cute little gift box! This was just the right size for a gift card or jewelry or maybe a tidy little wad of cash.

If you're ambitious, or have even more cards stashed away, you can try one of these. I didn't try one today, but they look really neat and it says you can also use wrapping paper. I think several hanging in a window or doorway would be really, really pretty, and the site has handy print-out templates.

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