Recycle old Christmas cards into beautiful ornaments.

Recycled Christmas Card Ornament

I’ve always found it hard, once the holidays are over, to toss the beautiful cards that I’ve received.  Most of the time, I hang onto them. Often, I stumble upon last year’s greeting cards while unpacking Christmas decorations for this year’s tree.  Shoved in the bottom of the box, there they usually are!

If you’re like me, and teeter between wanting to toss them and wanting to keep them, here’s a crafty way to make use of them as well as a great project for the kids.

The instructions are as follows:

1) Simply take a ruler and divide the greeting card (front and back) into equal vertical strips (from top to bottom of the card’s cover picture).

2) Use a hole-punch to perforate both sides of each strip; cut and place one on top of the other (in the proper sequence).  This can be done by numbering the backside of each strip and placing in order.

3) Once this is done, put a fastener into each set of holes (there should be one on the top and one on the bottom).

4) Place what you have made (many strips held together by two fasteners) into the palm of your hand so that your thumb is supporting the bottom and your index finger is supporting the top. Then, bend it into n arc. Once it is bent into an arc, you should be able to gently separate the strips and spread them out.

The end result is a round, fanned ball and beautiful ornament. Add string and it’s ready for the tree, or wrap it up and give it away as a gift. This is a great way to stretch the life and use of all those beautiful holiday greeting cards and a fun way to spend the afternoon.

Admittedly, this craft requires some precision, so it might be best suited for older kids. But there’s nothing stopping younger ones from helping out by cutting along pre-drawn lines, or adding fasteners and string.I wish I could remember where I first heard about this great recycling idea so that I could give credit where it is due; I can, however, honestly say that I was not the one who came up with it.

Charline Cormier-Pellerin