Saving Paper: Re-using Greeting Cards

Every year, we all send out dozens of greeting cards. Usually, we save some, display some on the mantle or the fridge, but most of them end up in a pile to be recycled. I began buying recycled cards in order to be a little more green, but I still ended up recycling so many cards that I received. It seemed so wasteful that I had almost given up and decided to send e-cards instead. Then I went to a friend’s house during the holiday season, and she had streamers made of cards strung up throughout her house. At the top of every doorway and even hanging from one window sill, she had ribbons strung which were holding old greeting cards. I was amazed at her ingenuity in re-using old Christmas cards as decorations. Her idea only works for horizontal cards, however, so I began to give some thought to new ideas of re-using greeting cards to decorate. This is the list of ideas I’ve come up with:

• Postcards:  If I receive a card which only has writing on the one panel inside, I cut the front off of the card and use it as a postcard. I draw the lines and boxes on the blank side and leave the design from the front of the card as the front of the postcard. Then I can mail someone a postcard! It costs less in postage, too.
• Streamers: My spin off of my friend’s idea was to create streamers from all kinds of cards: vertical, horizontal, even photo cards. I simply punch a hole in the top and bottom of each card and string a ribbon through the holes. The ribbon covers the back of the card so that the front design can be seen when the streamers are hung. In order to avoid the streamers being too heavy, I usually cut the card in half if it is a folded card and use only the designed half. These streamers look beautiful all over the house, and they can be used year after year. The greatest part is that you’ll never run out of materials!
• Gift Tags: Never buy gift tags again! You can use any portion of used greeting cards for gift tags, and they look beautiful. Simply cut out a square or rectangle from a used greeting card, making sure one side will be blank or mostly blank, and you can use the blank side to write the names To and From. If you find a card you really love and there are no one-sided blank spots, you can cover the not-as-good side with plain paper, or with a blank spot from another re-used greeting card!
• Paper Ornaments: For those of you who want to be even more creative, you can cut ornaments out of old greeting cards. Simply make a stencil of an object, such as a snowflake, leaf, pumpkin, flower, tree, or any object that relates best in your household. Using the stencil, you can cut out many matching and non-matching objects out of received greeting cards. This is a great, easy craft to do with children, and then you can let them color on the blank side if they wish. You can even use a little glitter glue on the edges to make it extra special.

Being eco-friendly can be so much fun, and it can be a money-saving adventure in these trying times. Kids love craft projects, especially when they know you’ll be displaying their beautiful artwork around the house. These ideas are just a starting point. If you think of more great craft ideas to re-use recycled greeting cards, please comment below and let me know. Happy Recycling!