I've collected all my greeting cards since the 1980's (more than 1000). What should I do with them? I want to keep them.
Angie from Cedar Park
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I have used past christmas cards as garland during the holidays. I punch a hole on each end and use a christmas colored ribbon and run it through each card to create a garland that I hang from the walls, stairway and around the christmas tree.
I have made coasters with my greeting cards. I used a wide-mouth glass as a circle and drew around it in the center of the picture. I then did the same where the signature is. Then I stuck them together with two-way tape just to hold them. The front will show the picture and the back will show the signature.
Find places or organizations that could use them for craft projects. Senior citizens centers, day care places, teachers for art projects, Bible class teachers could use the religious ones.
I always take my xmas and other cards. Tear off the front and use it for scrap paper for lists and important things that I need to remember. I also have written recipes on them. I usually throw away the part that has been written on. No one else needs to see what my card said. :))
I craft with groups of kids/families at shelters, church functions, etc. I use the cards alot...I'm always asking people to save them for me. One of the things that everyone enjoys is to make placemats out of them. I cut out the main picture of the cards (sometimes I use the plastic lid off of a coffee can for the template).
I make little books out of greeting cards for my favorite charity Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes. I use the thinner cardboard boxes for the covers and 1 inch binder rings to hold them together. I find stickers on sale also use fun pictures from old magazines. I have so much fun doing this. Some are 5x7 some 6 1/2 x4 1/2 and small ones 4 1/2 x 5 1/2.
I have taken old cards and cut around the picture and or verse on the inside. I paste it to a small paper bag. You can get these bags at craft stores in different colors. Use Christmas cards to make a bag for a Christmas gift, use old birthday cards to create a bag for a birthday gift.
With postage rates going higher and higher it is a struggle to send lots of Christmas cards. Last year I cut the front off of my old Christmas cards and cut them the size of a standard postcard and mailed Christmas-postcards. It didn't save me much but it did save me some, allowing me to send a few more cards than normal.
If there is a pretty scene on the front of the card, I would frame the card and use it as a decoration in my house.
Otherwise, you might take pinking shears and cut out the main design on the front of the card and mat it onto a slightly larger piece of colored paper (card stock, construction paper, etc); Glue design onto colored paper and send as a postcard.
Or you could take several cards, arrange them to your own preference and laminate them with laminating paper to make unusual place mats. Or, if you like, cut circles out of the design and make coasters, by laminating them and trimming to desired size.
This idea could be used to make bookmarks or gift tags as well.
Wow! Love the garland idea! If you scrap book, why not use a few of the beloved cards to decorate the xmas pages? Same for the b-day ones. A lot of bang for the price of Free! I adore that word. I will have to use that garland idea for the kids b-days! I am such a pack rat, I even have 7 years worth of cards sent to my oldest child ( with four kids , you can imagine the stockpile :) Hope this helps!
I would buy several large notebooks and page protectors. Slide the cards into the protectors and you can thumb through the notebooks.You can see both sides if you put one in each protector.
Maybe make origami boxes. I received jewelry in the mail and loved the box as much as the jewelry. Check how here-www.expertvillage.com/
just make the other piece a tad smaller or bigger.
I also like this-
www.quamut.com/
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