There is nothing like receiving personalized Christmas cards around the holiday season. Stunning images of peace, happiness, and the good-old Christmas tree all talking to me and saying, “It’s about time to receive some presents.” Maybe they tell you, “Time to buy some gifts for others,” but to each his own.

Now it’s time to hang them all over my apartment, up and down the doorway to the front hall…covering every inch I can spare much like the walls covered in a Houlihan’s or TGIFriday’s with various trinkets. Only my trinkets are in the form of greeting cards, expressions of holiday greetings on display for the whole world to see…or whoever shows up at my place.

Now the Christmas season is over. No more presents to open. No more eggnog to drink. Oh look, here’s my trophy wall of personalized Christmas cards. Now seems to me this is just a waste, throwing them out with no thought of what else can be done with them. So I’m thinking to myself over and over, “What do I do with these greeting cards?”

I sip my coffee and then there it is, a spectacular idea literally staring me in the face. Take your empty coffee can, wash it out, dry it, and let the fun begin. Pick up a spray paint can of whatever color you think will look good as a base and paint the can. Then go over to your Christmas cards and pull them off the wall carefully; I know that’s hard because we always pull them off so quick and to the point.

Now cut out those beautiful images of Christmas trees and snowmen and swirly holiday greetings and glue them to the outside of the spray painted can. After collaging the images to the outside of the can, cover the can with a clear glue or a clear-drying finish to protect your masterpiece. Let it dry, and there you have it – a candy dish for next year. And you actually did something creative with your time while finding a way to reuse all of those old holiday cards.

I had never considered myself a creative, crafty person. But years ago, I was planning a party for my daughter’s 2nd birthday. I wanted to have party decorations and favors. With entertainment funds low, I went through my collection of “rainy day stuck in the house when we’re really bored this stuff will have a use” box. In there I found material scraps not big enough to make anything with…feather boas, lace, ribbons, and about 12 small stuffed teddy bears that I bought for ten cents each at a clearance sale, plus many jars of various shapes and sizes. That box also contained numerous personalized greeting cards that I had saved because the pictures were so pretty.

The box held birthday cards, thank you cards, holiday cards, and a few note cards that a charity had sent me in the mail. (Yes, I did send a donation!) I set everything out on the kitchen table and thought, “There has to be a party here somewhere!” I left out all of the pieces for a while, wondering what I would do. I’d look and walk away, look and walk away…hoping to have an epiphany. This went on for a couple of hours and finally the light bulb went off!

Girls love teddy bears, boas, ribbons and lace. I took a bear and gingerly pulled off its head, arms, and legs (It was more painful for me than him, I assure you). I took out my hot glue gun and attached the head to the lid of a jar. Then I placed the arms on the sides of the jar. And lastly, I glued the legs to the sides near the bottom of the jar. I shaped pieces of material into a party hat trimmed with ribbon and lace and wrapped a boa around the bear’s neck. My creation was really starting to look great!

Next, I took some of the birthday cards and thank you cards and cut out the words “thank you” and “happy birthday.” I glued the text to toothpicks and placed the signs in the bear’s hands.

I filled the jars with wrapped candies, and each girl who came to the party left with a teddy bear jar. These made the most memorable party favors. After the party, I got so many compliments on the favors that I started making clown jars and giving them as gifts.

I no longer need a “rainy day box” but I do still save my greeting cards in another crafty creation. Using a cardboard shoe box, I cut and pasted the fronts of birthday cards and thank you cards onto the box. The greeting cards turned a plain old box into a beautiful storage container. I even store my photos in these homemade greeting cards boxes, too.

Anyone need a jar?

What can you do with old greeting cards? I bet you are thinking: “make Christmas ornaments!” That’s fine for Christmas cards but what about those all purpose cards and birthday cards received throughout the year? And what can you do with that pile of your children’s birthday cards that are collecting dust in your drawer? It would be such a shame to throw away greeting cards after receiving and reading them, so let their beautiful designs and colors inspire you to use them in creative ways.

One thing that you can do with your children is collect all the birthday cards they receive and make placemats. This would make a great gift for any family member and this activity will spark your children’s creativity, making them use their noggins. It is also a great geometry lesson!

You will need old birthday cards (or really any kind of all purpose cards), scissors (child-safe please!), construction paper, glue, and either a laminator plus laminating paper or clear contact paper.

First, help your children cut out different shapes from the greeting cards. Then have them lay out the shapes on the construction paper so they can measure their picture before gluing (I warned you this would use math!). Once they have decided on the picture they want, glue the different shapes onto the construction paper. If there is room, they can write a message to the person to whom they are giving the placemat or they can just embellish their picture. Finally, either run the placemat through a laminating machine (most office supply stores will laminate for you), or use clear contact paper to cover the placemat so it can be wiped clean.

And there you have it….a great gift for anyone in your child’s life, created by reusing personal birthday cards and all purpose cards! Come to think of it, using old Christmas cards would also make your holiday table look great too!

Well hello there! For all of you environmentally conscious people out there, here are some great ideas on what to do with all the beautiful birthday cards and all occasion greeting cards you and your family receive all year long. Yes, I know they are all too pretty to throw away, or you love the sayings on the insides, or the ones the kids got you are too cute to throw out, but what do you do with all of them?

Well here’s the first of many ideas. You must have a large wide candle in the house, don’t you? If not, then purchase an inexpensive one in any desired color. Get white glue or a decoupage glue/finish such as Mod Podge and an X-Acto knife or a sharp little scissor. Find the prettiest part of the birthday card or the words “happy birthday” or some flowers on the card (whatever the art is on the card) and cut it out very carefully keeping close to the outline of the art. Put some glue on the back of the art and glue it carefully to the candle. You can put the art randomly around the candle or the words happy birthday straight up and down or around the base. If you are using Mod Podge, after the first coat that you used to glue the art to the candle is dry, you can give it another coat to seal it. If you want to, you can use some glitter or some beads or sparkling jewels for added embellishments. And there you have it…a keepsake candle to bring out for every family birthday!

Ah…and how about a handmade beautiful birthday or anniversary decoupage cake plate? What a great item to keep or to make for a gift! Purchase a clear glass plate large enough for a cake. A platter would work as well. For this project you will need to use the Mod Podge glue because it works well for decoupaging. You can purchase it at your local craft store, such as Michaels or A.C. Moore. Find the beautiful parts of the art on your greeting cards and again, carefully cut them out. Turn the clear glass dish or platter over and glue the front of the art to the underside of the plate so that when you look at the top of the plate you see all the beautiful cut outs. You may place the art randomly around the plate or completely cover every inch for an overall effect.

If you only want to use a few pieces of art on the plate, a good idea is to purchase colored tissue paper or a beautiful patterned tissue paper and cut a piece out the size of the plate or platter. After you have glued down all the art you want to use and if there is still clear glass showing, cover the complete bottom of the plate with a piece of the tissue paper. Glue down the tissue and then cover the entire bottom of the plate with Mod Podge for a sealed finish. I would give it two coats of the Mod Podge, letting it dry in between coats. If you do not want to use the tissue paper, you may also use paint to finish off the clear spaces. A metallic gold or silver looks beautiful as a finish. Just make sure the art is coated with a sealed coat of the Mod Podge before you apply any paint. And also make sure that the paint is non-toxic and can be used on surfaces to serve food. After the paint is dry apply another coat of Mod Podge for a sealed finish, which will water-proof the surface as well.

Another great use for your birthday cards, anniversary cards, get well cards, or holiday cards is to make handmade gift wrap. To start, purchase a solid color or a striped pattern wrapping paper. Or you could use plain brown wrapping paper, which works beautifully! For a small package, you could even use a plain brown bag that you get from the food store. I would wrap the package first before adding any art. Then carefully add the cut outs from your greeting cards and glue them on to the wrapped gift, either in a pattern or randomly scatter them all over the package. You can also use one of the cut outs as the greeting card enclosure. And there you have it…your own customized gift wrap.

One last quick idea for your greeting cards…a beautiful garland. Again carefully cut around the art on your cards. Using a hole punch, place a hole on the cut outs large enough for a narrow satin or wired ribbon to fit through, and thread the ribbon through the holes spacing the cut outs a few inches from each other to make a ribbon garland. If the ribbon is wide enough, your art will stay in place a few inches from each other. Otherwise, put a small knot on either side of the cut outs to manually hold them still. Depending on how many pieces of art you want to use, cut the ribbon long enough to suit your needs. You can place your garland around the house for a birthday or a holiday appropriate for the cut outs you used.

I hope these ideas are helpful for you to start creating beautiful works of art with all of your greeting cards. Start creating and have fun!