Recycle Old Christmas Cards!

If you are like me, I never like to throw beautiful cards away - especially Christmas cards!  They are so colorful and meaningful to me, I want to find a project to use them in sometime in the future.  So there they are, all piled up in a drawer ......... waiting for my inspiration!  Well, here's just a few ideas off the top of my head that maybe you will find useful!

First off, they could be used again for new cards - just cut the front off and glue to nice index paper folded in half and write your own personal message inside!  This would be great for a Christmas note to a friend or relative!

Another idea would be to decorate a Christmas tree with them.  Just use your hole punch and punch a hole in the top left corner - tie on a pretty ribbon - and hang on your tree - add a little tinsel for sparkle and it will be beautiful.  This is a very inexpensive and creative way to decorate a tree for your family room or guest bedroom.  The cards will remind you of all your friends each year who have remembered you at Christmas!

Under the tree they can be used as gift tags - again cut off the front and punch a hole in it and tie it on your package for a beautiful decoration with the TO and FROM written on the back side.

If you like to create your own cards on the computer and you are equipped with a scanner, you can also use the beautiful artwork on the cover or inside the card to scan and print your own individually created card!  The art can be saved on your computer and used time and again!

If you have a coffee table with a glass tray top, they can be placed under the glass and maybe paired with some lace doilies or family pictures for a beautiful addition to your Christmas decorations in your living room or family room.  Also think of framing them with a background of a solid color or wall paper print! This could be used as a framed picture to hang on the wall during the Christmas season, or better yet, use it as a tray to serve tea on!  Or just stand up the cards in a display cabinet where you have your sparkling crystal to add some Christmas cheer!

I know these ideas have sparked some ideas of your own - so get out those old Christmas cards and start making plans of how to use them this year!  What's old can be new again - with just a touch of creativity!  Please feel free to share any additional ideas you have here on this blog!  Merry Christmas!