Reclaimed Holiday Cards

Greetings and happy new year. With all the holiday cards we received throughout this holiday season, we ended up with quite a few holiday cards that were too beautiful to throw away. One of my favorite things to do with my old holiday cards is to cut out name tags and smaller cards for many other occasions throughout the year. Those little gift cards at the card section in many big box stores can get a bit pricey. In the past I’ve either free handed my own drawings onto small cards or I’ve made them out of reclaimed holiday cards.

After the holidays, I start out by eying the cards to see where would be the best areas to start cutting out my new cards. Great tools to have are a pair of scalloped edge scissors and a one-hole punch that you may already have or that can be picked up at any craft store. In the past, I have even used a small knitting needle to make the hole. Scalloped edged scissors make great designs on your borders and the one-hole punch is to pierce a small hole in the top center or corner of a gift tag. If you don’t want to tape the gift tag or note card to a gift and you can also pierce a spot on the gift tag or card and run any kind of string, ribbon, or even yarn through the pierced hole. I use a toothpick to push the string, ribbon or yarn through the pierced hole.

Using the scalloped edge scissors to cut around objects and even shaping your own plain circles and tree shapes in the blank areas of most cards can make very beautiful little gift tags. You can even create small note cards by cutting simple square shapes from the folded edge of a card, which looks even more decorative when cut with the scalloped scissors. These tags and cards are not only colorful and whimsical, but also very original. I just hated to throw away such beautifully designed and artistic cards. Some tags have turned out so beautiful that I’ve used them as an ornament to hang on our tree and our wreath.

I hope this gives everyone fun and useful ideas on how to reclaim your holiday cards.