Christmas Cards Repurposed (tons of ideas!)
What to do with all those Christmas cards every year? If you are like me, you save them all but they can really add up. How about Christmas cards repurposed? Here’s a way to re-use them and re-treasure them, too.
It’s Trash to Treasure Tuesday and I thought I’d share a holiday themed project today, Christmas cards repurposed.
Let me first clarify that I don’t really consider these “trash” in that way. Although I’m sure there are many who do trash these each year.
And I don’t know about you but I save every single card I get, Christmas, Easter, birthday, whatever!
I’m so sentimental and hate to throw them away, so I don’t. ;)
But after awhile, that amounts to a lot of cards.
So why not repurpose some of them?
And that’s exactly what I did.
I tried to think of the different things I could make with them and 3 things came immediately to mind.
- decorative gift bags
- ornaments or hang tags
- bookmarks
Christmas cards are so pretty and some are artwork in themselves, so I thought they’d be perfect for these other uses.
I went through my stash and pulled out the ones I thought would be perfect for these uses.
I then separated the ones that had “scenes” that would look nice on an ornament.
I found some thin wood medallions, bags, ribbon and decorative trim at Michael’s. (most of it was on sale plus I had a 25% off total, too.)
I started by placing the wood oval over top of the area of the scene that would look best on the ornament…..
Then traced it with a marker and cut it out.
What a great way to showcase these pretty cards, don’t you think?
Feeling sentimental about doing this? Write who the cards were from on the backs of the ornaments and the year, if you have it.
This is a great way to have it as a keepsake.
I used decorative trim and ribbon on the edges.
I simply used my hot glue gun to attach the card, trim and ribbon to each wood medallion.
So sweet.
This would be a really fun project with kids, too.
These little frames were buy one, get one free and I thought they’d make cute “ornaments” too.
I got the lacy wood frames from Michael’s also.
I even have one of my Ryder boy’s cards from last year that I repurposed into an ornament.
You’ll notice I painted and added glitter to the frames.
The card on the bottom left above (and bottom right in the photo above this one) got double duty.
You’ll see. ;) ( the rest of the card became bookmarks)
The top card below was falling apart (it was a layered card) so I added a couple of the elements to a gift bag.
The card below that became bookmarks.
I used a paper trimmer/cutter to keep the lines straight. You can see mine in the photos here. (the ones with the grid pattern underneath)
I have had mine for about 20 years and it’s cut a ton of paper in that time. ;)
The one I linked is very similar and will probably be what I replace mine with if it ever needs replacing.
I cut out Mr. Penguin and added him to a gift bag.
And I used these scissors to cut those fun edges on that card above.
I used that pretty beaded trim on the ornaments and on the gift bags. (again, applied with a hot glue gun)
And sparkle ribbon tape on the bags.
Aren’t they cute?
I love the bookmarks.
You can also write on the back of them, as well. (who the cards they came from, are from, etc)
What ya think about these Christmas cards repurposed?
Do you save all of your cards too?
Is this something you might try?
Love this idea? PIN it to save it!
I will be sharing all these pretty Christmas cards repurposed into ornaments on a brand new tree I have this year, later this week.
Be sure to pop on back over and check it out. :) Plus, I’ll also be sharing my family’s favorite holiday traditions along with a bunch of my blogger friends, too!
So that should be fun!
BUT first!! Hop on over and find out what kind of treasures these all became. :)
Want to see even more “Trash to Treasure” makeovers? Click here for more.
You might also like this simple Christmas decor!
See what I made with these, here.
Have a great week!
xoxo
See even more holiday ideas here >>> Holiday Project Gallery
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I reuse my cards every year too! So much fun to create with them. I love your ideas, Nancy. Pinning!
It really is! Thanks Larissa! :)
Thank you for sharing what an adorable idea for all those cards
You are welcome Norma! It was fun creating something new with them. :) xo
So cute!! I admit, the family has been turning them into bookmarks for decades… but I never thought of turning them into ornaments! Thanks for sharing. ?
Thanks!:) They do make pretty bookmarks! xo
I reuse Christmas cards, too. I cut the decorative front off (or part of it), punch a hole in the corner, and use it as a gift tag
Great idea! :) I wish I had done this sooner! xo
Love all your ideas on repurposing cards. Old Birthday cards are also great for making into tags. Easter cards and other holiday cards are great for repurposing projects.
I started to make ornaments out of some of mine a few years ago but now I send just the front of the cards to St. Jude’s Hospital as the kids there use them to make into other cards.
Thanks Colleen! Oh, I love that idea! Will have to look into it, thanks for sharing that! :)
I am also a card hoarder, I even have my moms old cards, and she passed 10 years ago. I am glad you shared this project.
Phoebe
Such a treasure! I also came across cards my Mom gave me/us and she passed 4 years ago. So glad I saved them all as I know you are too. xoxo
Great ideas, thanks for sharing. I save mine also but have only turned them into gift tags before. You’ve opened up a world of possibilities!
Thanks Carolyn! I do love the gift tag idea too! xo
I love this idea of repurposing cards for gift tags, my mom did this. The ornaments will I will be adding to my gifts this year, thank you for sharing.
Oh yes, these will be perfect as a fun little extra on gifts! Great idea! xo
i took a beautiful card and framed it for decor. i took another and put it under the glass of a tray that i made out of an old picture frame.
will have to do the bookmarks and ornaments.
Yes, some of them are really lovely! I can totally see doing that! Great idea! xo
I love these ideas, Nancy! I mostly just receive photo cards for Christmas, but those could be framed or made into ornaments too. It would be beautiful to have a “memory tree” with photos and handmade ornaments. Now I’m getting sappy… xo
Thanks Jen! Oh yes, a bag or two had the other side of a photo card on them (the fancy writing part). Then I saved the photo and put with my other photo stash. But you could make them into ornaments too like you said! I love the idea of a memory tree! xo
I love these ideas.
Thanks Rose! They were so much fun to make! xo
All of those ideas for repurposing cards are cute! I have saved my favorite cards and it’s quite a pile. My poor kids will have a lot of cards to sift through when I’m gone.
Thank you and yep, same here! I have so many but I love to look back through them. :) xo
Such great ideas and great cards! You could also give the ornament or bookmark back to the person who sent you the card as a Christmas present! Personally most of the cards I get aren’t as pretty as yours!!
Thanks Sue! :) That’s a great idea!! Love that!! xo
Instead of just writing who the card was from, how about cutting out their signature and/or sentiment they hand wrote in the card and attach that to the back of the ornament? It might be fun to someday look back on old handwriting, seeing as kids these days hardly even learn cursive in school anymore. And it could be quite sentimental to see something so personal from loved ones year after year, especially when they’re gone. :)
Oh I like that idea! That’s really great. I actually didn’t repurpose the cards that had more than a simple greeting (or any from my kids) though but I think this is a wonderful idea.
Doing it like this, I may, however! Thanks for sharing that! xoxo
All great ideas, Nancy!! I save all of my old cards too, and used to use them to make pretty gift tags the following year, but have gotten away from it. I need to start doing that again! Love all of these ideas! Merry Christmas!! XOXO
Thanks Christy! It was really fun getting all crafty with these! Merry Christmas! xoxo
Simply love your ideas for repurposing Christmas cards. I will be making some bookmarks and decorating kraft bags for next year. What a neat idea! Thanks so much for sharing and giving us ideas for recycling!
That’s great Barbara! And you are very welcome! Happy New Year to you! xo
I love your ideas! I’ve been recycling used Christmas cards to make new holiday cards for veterans. Transferring all or a selective part of the face onto new cardstock as well as the message on the inside; sometime layering one or both parts and adding other embellishments when inspired. Your ideas for ornaments have given me new ideas. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks so much TJ! I love that idea so much!! I bet they are beautiful and well received and loved! xo